Adoption  of  Colonel  Smith  by  the  Indians. 

(See  Indian  Captivities,  page  185. 


AUBURN: 


SIXTH  THOUSAND. 


INDIAN    WARS 


OP  THB 


UNITED   STATES: 


FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE 
PRESENT  TIME. 


BY  JOHN  FROST,  LL.I), 


WITH    NUMEROUS    ENGRAVINGS, 

¥®©m  ©GsoigoKiAGn 

BY  W.  CBOOME  AND  OTHEB  DISTINGUISHED  AKTI8T8. 


AUBURN: 
DERBY   AND    MILLER. 

1852. 


i 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850,  by 
DERBY   AND   MILLER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  United  States  Court  for  the  Western 
District  of  New  York. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

gTKMOTYIED  BY  GEORGE  CHARLES 

ND.  )  Sdnsom  Street 


"7  I 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE 5 

CHAPTER  I. 
EARLY  INDIAN  WARS  IN  FLORIDA 9 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  INDIAN  WARS  OF  THE  COLONISTS  OF  VIRGINIA 26 

CHAPTER  III. 
EARLY  INDIAN  WARS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 40 

CHAPTER  IV. 
KING  PHILIP'S  WAR 50 

CHAPTER  V. 
KING  WILLIAM'S  WAR 67 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  WARS  OF  THE  FIVE  NATIONS 75 

CHAPTER  VII. 
INDIAN  WARS  IN  CAROLINA,  PREVIOUS  TO  THE  REVOLUTION 85 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
QUEEN  ANNE'S  WAR : 98 

CHAPTER  IX. 
UVEWELL'S  WAR 105 

(3) 


•»  ?  \ " 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X.  PACK 

THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR,  FROM  1754  TO  1759 110 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  WAR  BETWEEN  THE  COLONISTS  AND  THE  WESTERN  INDIANS, 
FROM  1763  TO  1765 139 

CHAPTER  XII. 
CRESAP'S  WAR 150 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

INDIAN  WARS  OF   THE   REVOLUTION 159 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  WAR  WITH  THE  INDIANS  OF  THE  WEST,  DURING  WASHING 
TON'S  ADMINISTRATION 182 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  TIPPECANOE  WAR 192 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812  AND  1813 202 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  CREEK  WAR 238 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  SEMINOLE  WAR  OF  1816  AND  1817 256 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
BLACK  HAWK'S  WAR 265 

CHAPTER  XX. 
THE  SECOND  SEMINOLE  WAR 271 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

INDIAN  HOSTILITIES  IN  CALIFORNIA  AND  NEW  MEXICO 288 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
THJB  TRIBES  WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI..  .  296 


PREFACE. 


OUR  relations  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of 
this  continent,  form  a  distinct  and  very  impor 
tant,  and  interesting  portion  of  the  history  of  this 
Republic.  It  is  unfortunately,  for  the  most  part,  a 
history  of  bloody  wars,  in  which  the  border  settlers 
have  suffered  all  the  horrors  of  savage  aggression, 
and,  in  which  portions  of  our  colonial  settlements, 
have  sometimes  been  completely  cut  off  and  de 
stroyed.  Other  portions  of  this  thrilling  history, 
wince  the  courage,  daring,  and  patience  of  the 

(5) 


6  PREFACE. 

settlers,  in  a  very  favorable  point  of  view,  and  ex 
hibit  them  as  triumphing  over  every  difficulty,  and 
finally  obtaining  a  firm  foothold  on  the  soil.  In 
all  its  parts,  this  history  will  always  possess  nu 
merous  points  of  peculiar  interest  for  the  American 
reader. 

It  has  been  my  object,  in  the  following  pages,  to 
bring  the  whole  under  one  general  view,  in  as  small 
a  compass  as  was  consistent  with  clearness  and 
fidelity  in  the  narrative.  The  result  of  the  whole 
story  is,  that  the  Indians,  once  the  possessors  of  the 
whole  country,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the 
Artie  circle,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
are  now  driven  into  a  comparatively  small  terri 
tory,  lying  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Here  they  remain  for  the  most  part, 
the  same  untutored  and  uncivilized  men,  that  their 
ancestors  were  when  Fernando  de  Soto  first  set 
foot  on  the  sandy  shore  of  Florida.  What  is  to  be 
their  future  destiny  it  is  not  easy  to  foresee.  Un 
less  they  shall  adopt  the  civilization  of  their  white 
neighbors,  and  abandoning  mutual  wars  and  the 
chase,  shall  apply  themselves  to  the  industrious 
pursuits  of  agriculture,  it  can  hardly  be  expected 
that  they  will  survive  many  ages,  as  distinct  na« 
tions  and  tribes.  Gradually,  but  surely,  theif 
numbers  are  diminishing.  Their  wars  among 


PREFACE.  7 

themselves,  in  which  they  will  persist,  thin  their 
numbers  from  year  to  year,  and  their  habits  of  life 
are  by  no  means  favorable  to  an  increase  of  popu 
lation,  or  even  to  the  preservation  of  their  race. 
Whole  tribes  have  already  disappeared  from  causes 
independent  of  the  hostility  of  the  white  people ; 
and  similar  causes,  now  in  operation,  threaten  their 
total  extermination,  even  if  they  should  suffer  no 
more  from  the  fatal  rifle,  or  the  destroying  influence 
of  intoxicating  liquors. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Christian  benevolence  may 
yet  devise  some  means  by  which  this  interesting 
and  brave  people  may  be  preserved  and  become 
instructed  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life. 


HISTORY 


OF    THE 


HIM  WARS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


PONCl  Dl  LROV. 


CHAPTEB  I. 

EAELT  INDIAN  WARS  IN  FLORIDA. 

PREVIOUS  to  the  permanent  establishment  of  the  English  in 
North  America,  the  French  and  Spaniards  made  many  attempts 
to  get  possession  of  various  parts  of  the  country.  The  coasts 
were  carefully  explored,  and  colonies  planted,  but  they  were  soon 
given  up  as  expensive,  and  involving  too  much  hardship  and 

(ft 


10  INDIAN  WARS 


CORTEX. 


danger.  The  first  expedition  to  the  coast  of  Florida  was  made 
in  1512,  by  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  renowned  for  his  courage  and 
warlike  abilities.  Ponce  de  Leon,  becoming  governor  of  Porto 
Rico,  and  hearing  from  the  Indians  that  there  existed  a  beautiful 
and  fertile  country  to  the  northward,  containing  the  waters  of 
perpetual  youth,  resolved  to  attempt  its  conquest.  He  sailed 
from  Porto  Rico  with  three  ships,  and  finally,  reached  the  conti 
nent  at  about  eight  degrees  thirty  minutes,  north  latitude. 

Landing  on  Palm  Sunday,  Ponce  de  Leon  gave  the  country 
the  name  of  Florida.  He  explored  the  coast  from  north  to  south, 
and  had  several  engagements  with  the  Indians;  and  though  he 
failed  to  obtain  the  youth  and  treasures  that  he  sought,  he  re 
turned  to  Porto  Pico,  crowned  with  the  lustre  of  making  a  great 
discovery.  The  report  of  the  achievements  of  Cortez  in  Mexico, 
again  kindled  the  ambition  of  Ponce  de  Leon ;  and  he  set  out  in 
1521,  with  two  of  his  own  ships,  to  make  a  settlement  in  Florida. 
But  the  Indians  advanced  against  him;  most  of  his  men  were 
killed,  and  himself  so  badly  wounded,  that  he  died  a  few  days 
after  his  return  to  Cuba. 

Another  expedition,  under  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  attempted  to 
form  a  settlement,  in  1524.  The  Indians  on  the  coast  where  he 
landed,  made  a  feast,  and  induced  the  Spaniards  to  advance  into 
the  interior  of  the  country  Two  hundred  men  were  killed  there, 

"      e  others  were  assailed  on  the  shore,  and  Vasquez  de  Ayllon 


IN  FLORIDA. 


13 


NABVAKZ  E»  FLORIDA. 


himself  fell  a  victim  to  'the  cruelty  of  the  natives.  In  1528, 
Pamphilo  de  Narvaez,  the  celebrated  rival  of  Hernando  Cortez, 
in  an  expedition  to  the  western  coast  of  Florida,  discovered  the 
bay  of  Pensacola,  where  he  landed  in  April,  with  about  three 
hundred  men.  He  penetrated  into  the  interior,  and  marched  for 
the  high  region  of  the  Apalachees.  The  Indians  harassed  the 
Spaniards  with  an  indomitable  spirit;  but  they  at  last  returned 
safely  to  the  coast,  and  embarked.  The  vessels  were  afterwards 
wrecked,  and  nearly  all  on  board  perished. 

Don  Louis  de  Velasco,  becoming  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  fitted 
out  another  expedition  for  the  settlement  of  Florida,  and  giving 
the  command  to  Tristan  de  Luna,  ordered  him  to  proceed  to  the 
bay  of  Pensacola.  De  Luna  reached  that  bay  in  August,  1559, 
and  six  days  afterwards,  lost  all  his  fleet  by  a  hurricane.  Four 
hundred  men  were  sent  into  the  country,  to  procure  provisions, 
and  Luna  soon  followed  with  the  rest  of  his  forces.  The  Indians, 
awed,  perhaps,  by  the  strength  of  the  Spaniards,  were  very 
friendly,  and  trafficked  with  them.  But  it  could  not  last.  The 
powerful  Coosa  tribe  were  at  war  with  the  Natchez,  a  people  who 
refused  to  pay  an  ancient  tribute;  and  the  Spaniards  were  in 
duced  to  join  in  an  expedition  to  crush  the  rebels.  The  Natchez 
deserted  their  villages  at  the  approach  of  the  invaders,  and  cross 
ing  the  river  Ochehiton,  believed  themselves  in  safety.  But 
the  Coosas  found  a  ford,  and  the  fire  arms  of  the  Spaniards 


14 


INDIAN  WARS 


soon  compelled  the  Natchez  to  submit  to  the  terms  imposed  by 
their  old  lords.  The  trifling  tribute  of  grain  and  fruit  three  times 
a  year,  was  agreed  upon,  and  the  Spaniards  returned  to  the  coast. 
De  Luna  was  a  man  determined  to  overcome  all  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  his  schemes.  But  Juan  Ceron,  his  aid-de-camp,  believed 
them  insurmountable,  and  by  secret  machinations,  contrived  to 
prevent  De  Luna  from  pursuing  his  expedition  any  farther.  It 
had  lasted  seven  months,  and  the  men  were  discontented. 

Angel  de  Villafana  was  appointed  to  succeed  Tristan  de  Luna, 
as  commander  of  the  Spaniards  in  Florida.  He  explored  the 
coast,  but  did  not  attempt  any  permanent  establishment. 

Another  adventurer  now  appeared  to  try  his  fortune  in  Florida. 
Fernando  de  Soto,  originally  possessed  of  nothing  but  his  courage 
and  his  sword,  had  followed  the  fortures  of  Pizarro,  and  returned 
to  Spain  from  Peru,  laden  with  wealth,  and  crowned  with  the 
laurels  of  a  successful  warrior.  His  reception  was  brilliant;  and 
having  obtained  the  favor  of  Charles  V.,  he  sued  for  permission 


IN  FLORIDA. 


15 


to 'conquer  and  rule  the  territory  of  Florida.  Charles,  ever  eager 
to  increase  the  extent  of  his  dominion,  created  De  Soto  adelan- 
tado  of  that  province.  The  ambitious  soldier  proceeded  to  em 
bark  his  whole  fortune  in  this  grand  expedition.  He  selected 
nine  hundred  and  fifty  men,  most  of  whom  were  trained  to  arms 
and  possessed  of  daring  valor,  and  on  the  6th  of  April,  1538, 
embarked  his  troops  in  ten  vessels,  and  sailed  for  Cuba,  which 
was  placed  under  his  command  that  he  might  draw  from  it  every 
needful  resource.  There  he  spent  a  year  in  preparation,  and 
received  a  large  reinforcement  of  men,  under  command  of  the 
veteran  Vasco  Porcalho. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  1539,  the  adelantado  sailed,  with  nine 
vessels,  from  Havanna,  and  on  the  30th,  he  landed  in  the  bay  of 
Spiritu  Santo.  Twelve  priests  accompanied  the  expedition,  and, 
a  great  display  of  religious  zeal  was  made ;  yet  the  Spaniards 
brought  bloodhounds  with  them  for  hunting  the  Indians,  and 
chains  for  securing  them.  Hirriga,  one  of  the  native  rulers 
whom  De  Soto  strove  to  conciliate,  declared  his  hatred  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  soon  after  attacked  them;  but  was  repulsed  by 
Porcalho.  He  then  abandoned  his  capitol,  and  sought  refuge 
in  the  woods  and  marshes.  Porcalho,  in  attempting  to  follow 
him,  sunk  so  deep  in  the  mud,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  he  waa 
rescued.  This  old  warrior,  in  spite  of  the  entreaties  of  De  Soto, 
then  returned  to  Cuba. 


16  INDIAN  WARS 

The  Spanish  general  now  marched  into  the  territories  of  Urri- 
baracuxi  and  Acuera,  where  he  met  a  similar  reception.  He 
strove,  by  every  means,  to  mitigate  the  hatred  of  the  Indians, 
but  in  vain.  Although  unable  to  meet  the  invaders  in  the  field, 
they  hovered  round,  and  not  a  Spaniard  could  stir  three  hundred 
yards  from  the  camp  without  being  killed  or  wounded.  De  Soto 
continued  to  advance,  and  at  length  reached  the  fertile  district 
of  Acali,  where  the  troops  felt  the  ground  firm  beneath  their  feet. 
The  prince  of  the  country  tendered  his  submission;  but  soon 
after,  while  the  Spaniards  were  crossing  a  river,  they  were 
attacked  by  the  savages  with  a  cloud  of  arrows.  De  Soto  re 
pulsed  the  enemy,  and  in  keeping  with  his  policy,  refrained  from 
revenging  himself. 

More  memorable  events  distinguished  their  march  through  the 
country  of  Vitachuco.  The  chief  of  the  natives  of  that  country 
announced  his  determination  to  resist  their  progress ;  but,  when 
the  Spaniards  appeared,  he  altered  his  course.  De  Soto  was 
courteously  received,  led  to  the  capital,  and  treated  in  the  most 
distinguished  manner.  The  chief  summoned  his  warriors  from 
every  quarter  as  if  to  honor  his  illustrious  guest.  A  day  was 
appointed,  when  both  armies  were  to  muster  in  warlike  array, 
and  the  savages  were  secretly  instructed,  on  a  given,  signal,  to 
attack  the  Spaniards.  The  latter  were  apprised  of  the  plot,  and 
were  armed  for  the  onset.  As  it  began,  the  cacique  was  sur 
rounded.  Yet  the  savages  rushed  on  undaunted.  They  could 
not  withstand  the  Spanish  cavalry,  however,  and  were  soon  dis 
persed.  De  Soto  was  in  imminent  danger  during  the  attack,  his 
horse  being  killed  under  him,  while  in  the  midst  of  the  Indians. 
After  the  cavalry  had  rescued  him  and  dispersed  the  enemy,  he 
sought  to  conciliate  the  Indian  cacique,  and  even  invited  him 
to  his  table.  But  his  plans  were  not  consistent.  He  forced 
the  bravest  of  the  captive  warriors  to  perform  the  duties  of 
cooks  and  scullions.  These  lofty  spirits  were  thus  inspired  with 
the  fiercest  desire  for  revenge.  A  plot  was  formed.  The  ser 
vants  suddenly  made  an  attempt  to  kill  their  master,  and  De 
Soto  was  struck  down  senseless  by  a  blow  from  the  treacherous 
cacique.  The  Spaniards  rallied,  and  after  a  short  struggle,  in 
which  they  lost  several  men,  killed  the  greater  number  of  the 
Indians,  including  the  cacique.  They  then  hastily  left  this  fatal 
country,  and  marched  for  Appalachen. 

The  savages  harassed  the  invaders  continually  during  the 
march,  but  could  not  be  brought  to  a  general  action.  Appala 
chen  was  deserted  by  its  inhabitants.  De  Soto  determined,  in 
order  to  end  the  skirmishing,  to  get  possession  of  the  prince  of 
the  country,  and  force  him  to  command  hostilities  to  cease.  This 
was  accomplished.  The  Spaniards  captured  the  fort  of  palisades 


IN  FLORIDA.  19 

in  which  he  was  confined,  and  seized  the  sovereign.  After  a 
short  captivity,  his  subjects  found  means  to  rescue  him.  De  Soto 
found  no  gold  at  Appalaehen;  but  pleased  with  the  country,  he 
ordered  his  fleet  to  come  from  the  Bay  of  Spiritu  Santo  to  the 
neighboring  coast,  and  resolved  to  spend  the  winter  there. 

During  their  stay,  information  was  communicated  to  the 
Spaniards  by  two  captives,  that  a  country  existed  to  the  north 
west,  abounding  in  gold  and  precious  stones;  and  imagining  them 
selves  to  be  approaching  a  second  Peru,  they  eagerly  marched 
from  Appalachen,  at  the  end  of  March,  1540.  Four  days  after, 
they  crossed  a  broad  river,  continually  harassed  by  the  attacks  of 
the  natives,  who  surprised  and  killed  a  small  party  of  men.  De 
Soto,  in  leaving  the  marshy  and  hostile  country  of  Florida, 
adopted  a  more  decided  plan  of  conciliation  in  regard  to  the 
natives,  and  so  far  succeeded  that  he  was  allowed  a  free  passage 
through  their  country.  The  guides  conducted  them  over  a  long 
route  till  they  came  to  the  Savannah  river.  The  country  on  the 
opposite  bank  was  called  Cofacique,  the  queen  of  which  wel 
comed  the  invaders  and  supplied  their  wants.  The  country  being 
extremely  fertile,  many  of  the  Spaniards  wished  to  settle  in  it, 
but  De  Soto,  disappointed  in  not  finding  gold  and  gems,  would 
not  listen  to  the  proposal. 

In  the  beginning  of  May,  the  army  left  Cofacique,  having  pre 
viously  excited  the  hostility  of  the  natives,  and  captured  the 
hospitable  queen,  who  escaped  on  the  frontier  of  her  country. 
De  Soto  pursued  his  course  through  the  Cherokee  territory,  and 
over  branches  of  the  Appalachians  until,  finding  the  reports  con 
cerning  the  country  northward  to  be  very  contradictory,  he  de 
termined  to  retreat  southward  and  seek  supplies  in  his  rendezvous 
on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  He  adopted  a  new  policy  in  his  treat 
ment  of  the  natives.  When  he  entered  Coosa,  he  seized  the 
person  of  the  cacique,  and  compelled  him  to  issue  orders  as  he 
wished.  The  same  system  was  practised  on  the  cacique  of  Tus- 
caloosa,  a  fierce  and  proud  chief,  ruling  over  extensive  territories. 
He  concealed  his  indignation  at  being  made  a  prisoner,  and 
studiously  supplied  the  wants  of  the  strangers;  but  meditated  a 
terrible  revenge.  When  the  Spaniards  reached  the  town  of  Mau- 
vila,  (Mobile)  De  Soto  was  apprised  of  the  hostile  intent  of  the 
natives,  and  prepared  his  men.  At  a  chosen  signal,  thousands  of 
enemies  appeared,  and  a  fierce  conflict  ensued.  The  Spaniards  set 
the  town  on  fire,  and  even  then  only  succeeded  in  defeating  their 
enemies  after  a  most  obstinate  struggle.  It  is  said  that  some 
thousands  of  the  savages  fell  in  the  battle,  the  invaders  had 
eighteen  killed  and  many  severely  wounded,  while  all  their  bag 
gage  was  burnt  in  the  town. 

De  Soto  was  now  near  the  sea  shore,  and  his  men  wished  to 


20  INDIAN  WARS 

return;  but  pride  would  not  let  him.  He  resolved  to  plunge 
anew  into  the  depths  of  the  American  continent,  in  the  hopes  of 
finding  something  to  reward  his  adventure.  He  directed  his 
march  northwest  into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  a  region 
hitherto  unexplored.  After  hard  marching  and  fighting,  he  came 
to  Chica9a,  the  capital  of  the  Chickasaws.  Here  he  passed  the 
winter.  In  the  spring,  when  the  Spaniards  were  preparing  to 
start,  they  were  attacked  by  the  natives  in  the  night  time.  They 
might  have  been  all  cut  off  had  not  the  horses  frightened  the 
Indians,  and  thus  aided  their  masters  in  repulsing  them.  Eleven 
Spaniards  were  killed,  and  they  lost  about  fifty  horses.  Un 
daunted  by  this  disaster,  De  Soto  pushed  forward  till  he  came  to 
the  broad  river  Mississippi,  then  called  Chucagna,  or  great  river. 
His  passage  being  opposed,  it  was  twenty  days  before  he  could 
construct  barges  and  transport  his  men.  After  passing  through 
the  deserted  country  of  Aquico,  he  came  to  the  country  of  the 
Kaskaskia  Indians.  They  were  conciliated,  and  De  Soto  marched 
as  far  northward  as  Copaha,  supposed  to  be  the  territory  now 
included  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  There  he  resolved  to  check 
his  wanderings,  there  being  no  prospect  of  his  obtaining  any  of 
the  objects  he  sought.  Proceeding  westward  to  the  White  river, 
he  turned  his  march  southward,  and  descended  the  Red  river  to 
the  Mississippi.  His  men  were  now  reduced  in  number  to  five 
hundred  and  his  horses  to  forty.  The  natives  were  conciliated, 
and  De  Soto  strove  to  secure  reverence  for  his  own  person  by  per 
suading  them  he  was  the  child  of  the  sun.  Amid  his  anxieties 
and  distresses,  he  was  seized  with  a  fever,  which  in  a  few  days 
closed  his  earthly  career.  On  the  death  of  their  commander, 
the  troops  were  struck  with  alarm.  Moscoso,  his  successor, 
attempted  to  conceal  the  event  from  the  Indians,  burying  De 
Soto  in  the  centre  of  the  Father  of  Waters,  which  he  had  dis 
covered.  The  whole  party  then  set  to  work  to  make  seven  brig- 
antines  for  descending  the  Mississippi,  it  having  been  ascertained 
that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  reach  Mexico  by  land.  When 
the  vessels  were  completed,  the  Spaniards  embarked,  and  after  a 
passage  of  fifty-two  days,  during  which  they  were  pursued  and 
harassed  by  the  Indians,  they  arrived,  reduced  to  the  number  of 
three  hundred  and  eleven  men,  at  the  port  of  Pauuco,  Mexico. 
In  four  years  they  had  marched  upwards  of  five  thousand  miles, 
through  a  hostile  wilderness;  but  had  achieved  nothing. 

Adventurers  of  another  nation  appeared  soon  after  to  dispute 
the  possession  of  the  country.  Acting  under  the  orders  of  Ad 
miral  Coligni,  who  desired  to  found  a  refuge  for  the  persecuted 
French  colonists,  Jean  Ribaut,  a  mariner  of  great  ability,  set 
sail  from  Dieppe,  February  15th,  1562,  and  landed  on  the  snores 
of  the  river  afterwards  called  St.  Matthew,  in  the  northern  part 


HBB1UNDO  DB  9)TO  DISCOV1KI5G  THI    MISSISSIPPI  EIVMU 


IN  FLORIDA. 


ADMIRAL  COLIGNI. 


of  Florida,  leaving  Captain  Albert  in  command  at  a  fort  built  on 
an  island  in  the  bay  of  Port  Royal,  Ribaut  then  attempted  to 
prosecute  a  farther  voyage  of  discovery;  but  was  soon  obliged 
to  return  to  Dieppe. 

The  Indians  acted  towards  the  French  in  a  friendly  manner; 
and  when  the  non-arrival  of  reinforcements,  and  the  want  of 
supplies,  forced  them  to  leave  the  country,  they  furnished  them 
with  the  materials  for  equipping  a  brigantine.  The  subsequent 
misfortunes  of  the  French  do  not  belong  to  this  history.  Another 
expedition,  under  command  of  Rene  de  Laudonniere,  was  sent  out 
by  Coligni,  and  reached  the  coast  of  Florida  in  June,  1524.  The 
Indian  sachems  received  the  French  in  as  kind  a  manner  as  be 
fore.  They  showed  them  the  monument  erected  by  Ribaut 
and  seemed  proud  to  make  their  alliance.  A  fort  was  built 
about  two  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Matthew,  or 
May,  as  the  French  called  it,  and  a  serious  attempt  made  to 
found  a  colony.  Laudonniere  often  assisted  the  friendly  tribes 
against  their  hostile  neighbors;  by  which  course  he  made  hia 
situation  a  difficult  and  dangerous  one,  although  successful  in  the 
open  contests  with  the  enemy.  At  length,  when  supplies  began 
to  fail,  Laudonniere  broke  his  alliance  with  his  former  friends, 
and  took  Outina,  the  cacique,  for  whom  he  hoped  to  get  a  high 


24  INDIAN  WARS 


THE  INDIANS  SHOWING  LAUDONNIERE  THE  MONUMENT. 

ransom,  prisoner.  The  Indians  were  irritated,  and  when  Outina 
was  set  at  liberty,  they  at  once  prepared  for  war.  Long  arrows 
were  stuck  in  the  fields  with  scalps  hanging  at  the  tops,  and  the 
navigation  of  the  river  obstructed  to  prevent  the  French  from 
returning  to  Fort  Carolina.  Several  soldiers  who  had  strayed 
from,  the  main  body  were  cut  off;  and  a  detachment  of  thirty 
men,  under  Ottigny,  was  attacked  by  a  large  force  of  Indians. 
Several  men  were  killed,  twenty-two  wounded,  and  the  boats  to 
which  they  fled  had  great  difficulty  in  regaining  the  fort. 

The  French  were  only  saved  from  utter  ruin,  by  the  relief  ex 
tended  by  an  English  captain,  named  Hawkins,  who,  with  four 
vessels  was  exploring  the  coast.  As  Laudonniere  was  preparing 
to  leave  the  country,  Jean  Ribaut  arrived  from  France,  with 
several  vessels  and  large  reinforcements.  Ribaut  succeeded  Lau 
donniere,  as  governor  of  the  colony.  Soon  after,  a  large  force  of 
the  Spanish  Catholics,  under  Pedro  de  Melendez,  arrived  on 
the  coast  and  established  the  fort  St.  Augustine.  The  object  of 
the  Spaniards  was  the  expulsion  of  the  Protestant  French  from 
Florida.  In  the  bloody  scenes  which  followed,  throwing  a  detest 
able  infamy  on  the  name  of  the  savage  Melendez,  the  Indians 
took  no  part.  It  is  enough  to  say,  that  the  French  were  all 
either  butchered,  or  driven  out  of  the  country. 

When,  in  the  latter  part  of  1567,  Dominic  de  Gorgues  came 
to  Florida  to  revenge  the  massacre  of  his  countrymen,  the 
Indians  joined  him,  in  great  force.  The  Spanish  forts,  which 
were  under  command  of  Villareal,  were  attacked  in  a  furious 
manner,  and  the  enemy  being  placed  between  two  fires,  but  few 
escaped.  Many  were  taken  and  reserved  for  a  more  dreadful 


POCAHONTAS  BX8CUIKO  CAPTAIN  SUITE. 


IN  FLORIDA. 


27 


death.  They  were  hung  on  trees,  and  the  inscription,  "I  do  not 
this  as  unto  Spaniards  and  mariners,  but  as  unto  traitors,  rob 
bers  and  murderers/'  was  placed  over  them  by  the  revengeful 
De  Gorgues.  After  receiving  the  congratulations  of  the  Indians, 
as  their  deliverer,  he  then  returned  to  France.  No  further 
attempts  were  made  to  establish  colonies  in  Florida  by  the 
French,  although  it  had  been  proved  that  the  Indians,  when 
well  treated,  were  kindly  disposed,  and  willing  to  assist  them. 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   INDIAN    WARS    OP   THE    COLONISTS    OF  VIRGINIA. 

IN  pursuing  the  history  of  the  wars  between  the  white  and 
Indian  races,  it  is  observable,  that  though  the  different  contests 
had  different  immediate  causes;  the  grand  causes  of  Indian  hos 
tility  were  the  invasion  of  their  territory  and  the  belief  that 
the  whites  would  eventually  take  possession  of  the  whole  country. 
Subsequent  events  have  clearly  shown  the  foresight  of  the  In 
dians,  and  their  determined  resistance  should,  therefore,  excite 
our  admiration. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  of  the  English  was  made  at 
Jamestown,  on  the  James  river,  Virginia,  in  1607.  The  emi 
grants  were  one  hundred  in  number,  Captain  John  Smith  being 
the  most  prominent  person. 

The  Indians  were  at  first  friendly  to  the  English.  A  trade 
was  opened  with  them,  and  besides  relieving  their  distresses,  they 
instructed  them  in  the  mode  of  raising  Indian  corn.  But  in  the 
extremity  of  their  suffering  from  famine,  the  settlers  forgot  to 
conciliate  their  warlike  neighbors,  and  some  of  their  number 
(28) 


OF  THE  COLONISTS  OP  VIRGINIA.  31 

suffered  the  consequences  of  error.  Among  others,  Captain  Smith 
nearly  lost  his  life;  being  captured  and  taken  into  the  presence 
of  the  king,  Powhatan,  he  was  condemned  to  die,  and  only  saved 
by  the  interposition  of  Pocahontas,  the  king's  favorite  daughter. 
As  long  as  Smith  remained  in  the  colony,  his  known  valor  and 
activity  awed  the  Indians  into  maintaining  peace.  When  Smith 
was  forced  to  return  to  England,  every  provocation  was  given  to 
them  to  begin  hostilities,  by  the  reckless  settlers,  and  they  were 
not  backward.  Supplies  of  provisions  were  withheld,  and  the 
whites  so  harassed  that  their  number  was  reduced  to  sixty  per 
sons,  a  few  left  to  communicate  the  miseries  of  the  "  Starving 
Time." 

The  arrival  of  the  judicious  Lord  Delaware,  with  a  large  num 
ber  of  emigrants  and  supplies  of  provisions  restored  order,  and 
the  Indians  were  again  taught  to  revere  the  power  of  the 
English. 

In  1612,  the  marriage  of  Pocahontas  took  place.  It  was  the 
accidental  result  of  treachery.  A  scarcity  prevailing  at  James 
town,  Captain  Argal  was  sent  to  the  Potomac  for  a  cargo  of  corn. 
Learning  that  Pocahontas  was  living  near  where  he  then  was, 
and  hoping  Powhatan  would  offer  provisions  to  ransom  his 
daughter,  Argal  enticed  her  on  board  his  vessel,  and  in  spite  of 
her  entreaties  conveyed  her  to  Jamestown.  The  indignant  Pow 
hatan  rejected  the  demand  of  a  ransom,  but  promised,  if  his 
daughter  was  restored,  to  forget  the  injury  and  supply  the  wants 
of  the  colonists.  During  her  residence  in  the  settlement,  Poca 
hontas  made  such  an  impression  on  Mr.  Kolfe,  a  young  man  of 
rank,  that  he  offered  her  his  hand  and  solicited  the  consent  of 
Powhatan  in  marriage.  This  was  granted  and  the  ceremony  was 
performed  with  great  pomp. 

Powhatan,  one  of  the  most  sagacious  of  the  Indian  sachems, 
saw  through  the  designs  of  the  English,  and  was  con 
stantly  getting  into  difficulties  with  them.  But  his  death  pre 
vented  the  terrible  execution  of  his  schemes.  Although  not 
holding  the  office  of  chief  sachem,  Opekankanough  was  the  great 
leader  of  the  Indians  after  Powhatan' s  death.  His  name  is  con 
nected  with  one  of  the  most  dreadful  massacres  recorded  in  the 
history  of  savage  warfare.  By  a  series  of  mutual  insults  and 
outrages,  the  Indians  and  the  English  had  become  almost  open 
foes.  Opekankanough  resolved  to  exterminate  the  whites  if  pos 
sible,  and  fixed  upon  the  22d  of  March,  1622,  as  the  day  of 
vengeance. 

Only  fourteen  days  before  the  massacre,  Nemattanow,  a  re 
nowned  warrior,  and  known  among  the  English  as  Jack-of-the- 
feaiher,  came  among  them,  and  induced  one  Morgan  to  take 
some  commodities  to  Pamunkey,  to  trade  with  the  Indians.  Mor- 


32 


INDIAN   WARS 


CHANCO  (JIVING  INFORMATION  OF  THE  INTENDED  MASSACRE. 


gan  went,  and  never  returned.  As  lie  went  in  company  with 
Nemattanow,  and  the  warrior  returned  with  his  cap  upon  his 
head,  and  reported  his  death,  the  servants  of  Morgan  shot  the 
supposed  murderer.  Although  Nemattanow  was  his  rival  in 
reputation,  Opekankanough  affected  great  grief  at  his  death,  and 
skilfully  used  the  circumstance  to  inflame  his  warriors  to  revenge. 
By  his  dissimulation,  Opekankanough  completely  lulled  the 
suspicions  of  the  English;  and  just  before  the  massacre,  he  re 
ceived  one  of  their  messengers,  and  treated  him  kindly,  assuring 
him,  that  the  sky  should  fall,  before  he  would  violate  the  peace 
with  the  whites.  Never  was  a  plot  better  contrived.  On  the 
morning  of  the  22d  of  March,  the  Indians  came  unarmed  among 
their  intended  victims,  and  even  sat  down  to  breakfast  with  them. 
The  English  loaned  them  the  boats  with  which  they  communi 
cated  with  other  tribes,  and  gave  them  utensils,  which  were  con 
verted  into  offensive  weapons.  The  hour  arrived;  and  suddenly, 
the  Indians  sprang  like  tigers  from  their  ambushes,  and  appeared 
in  overwhelming  numbers,  in  the  midst  of  the  English  settle 
ments.  The  dread  whoop  was  heard  in  all  directions,  and  de 
struction  followed.  Age,  sex,  nor  condition,  saved  the  devoted 
ones,  and  in  the  space  of  an  hour,  three  hundred  and  forty-seven 
men,  women,  and  children  ware  butchered.  Out  of  eighty  plan- 


OF  THE   COLONISTS  OF  VIRGINIA.  35 

tations,  six  only  were  left  uninjured;  and  these  were  gaved  by 
the  timely  warning  of  a  Christian  Indian  called  Chanco. 

The  English  spent  the  ensuing  summer  in  strengthening  them 
selves  against  further  attacks,  and  preparing  for  revenge.  To 
attain  their  object,  they  were  compelled  to  use  means  as  treacher 
ous  as  those  of  the  Indians.  For,  under  pretence  of  making 
peace  again  with  them,  they  fell  upon  them  unawares,  and  mur 
dered  them  without  mercy.  It  was,  for  some  time,  reported  that 
Opekankanough  was  among  the  slain.  But  the  same  sachem 
executed  a  still  morn  terrible  massacre  twenty-two  years  after 
wards,  and  is  thus  related  by  Mr.  Drake,  in  his  Book  of  the 
Indians. 

How  long  Opekankanough  had  been  secretly  plotting  to  cut 
off  the  intruders  of  his  soil,  cannot  be  known;  but,  in  1644,  all 
the  Indians,  over  a  space  of  country  of  six  hundred  miles  in  ex 
tent,  were  leagued  in  the  enterprise.  The  old  chief  at  this  time, 
was  supposed  to  be  near  one  hundred  years  of  age,  and,  though 
unable  to  walk,  would  be  present  in  the  execution  of  his  beloved 
project.  It  was  upon  the  18th  of  April,  when  Opekankanough, 
borne  in  a  litter,  led  his  warriors  forward,  and  commenced  the 
bloody  work.  They  began  at  the  frontiers,  with  a  determination 
to  slay  all  before  them,  to  the  sea.  After  continuing  the  massacre 
two  days,  in  which  time  about  five  hundred  persons  were  mur 
dered,  Sir  William  Berkeley,  at  the  head  of  an  armed  force, 
checked  their  progress.  The  destruction  of  the  inhabitants  was 
the  greatest  upon  York  and  Pamunkey  rivers,  where  Opekanka 
nough  commanded  in  person.  The  Indians  now,  in  their  turn, 
were  driven  to  great  extremity,  and  their  old  chief  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  carried  in  triumph  to  Jamestown.  How  long  after 
the  massacre  this  happened,  we  are  not  informed;  but  it  is  said, 
that  the  fatigues  he  had  previously  undergone,  had  wasted  away 
his  flesh,  and  destroyed  the  elasticity  of  his  muscles  to  that  de 
gree,  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  raise  the  eyelids  from  his 
eyes;  and  it  was  in  this  forlorn  condition,  that  he  fell  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies.  A  soldier, 'who  had  been  appointed  to 
guard  him,  barbarously  fired  upon  him,  and  inflicted  a  mortal 
wound.  He  was  supposed  to  have  been  prompted  to  the  bloody 
deed,  from  a  recollection  of  the  old  chief's  agency  in  the  mas 
sacre.  Just  before  he  expired,  hearing  a  great  bustle  and  crowd 
about  him,  he  ordered  an  attendant  to  lift  up  his  eyelids;  when 
he  discovered  a  multitude  pressing  around,  to  gratify  the  untimely 
curiosity  of  beholding  a  dying  sachem.  Undaunted  in  death, 
and  roused,  as  it  were,  from  sleep,  at  the  conduct  of  the  confused 
multitude,  he  deigned  not  to  observe  them;  but,  raising  himself 
from  the  ground,  with  the  expiring  breath  of  authority,  com 
manded  that  the  governor  should  be  called  to  him.  When  the 


36  INDIAN  WARS 

governor  came,  Opekankanough  said,  with  indignation,  "Had  it 
been  my  fortune  to  have  taken  Sir  William  Berkeley  prisoner,  I 
would  not  meanly  have  exposed  him  as  a  show  to  my  people;" 
and  soon  after  expired. 

It  is  said,  and  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  the  fact,  that  it 
was  owing  to  the  encroachments  upon  his  lands,  that  Opekan 
kanough  determined  upon  a  massacre  of  the  whites.  These 
intrusions  were,  nevertheless,  conformable  to  the  grants  of  the 
proprietors.  He  could  hardly  have  expected  entire  conquest,  as 
his  people  had  already  begun  to  waste  away,  and  English  villages 
were  springing  up  over  an  extent  of  country  of  more  than  five 
hundred  miles,  with  a  populousness  beyond  any  preceding  exam 
ple;  still,  he  was  determined  upon  the  vast  undertaking,  and 
sacrificed  himself  with  as  much  honor,  it  will,  perhaps,  be  ac 
knowledged,  as  did  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae. 

The  successors  of  Opekankanough  maintained  peace  with  the 
English  until  the  settlements  were  sufficiently  powerful  to  compel 
its  observance.  In  1656,  Totopotomoi  was  king  of  Pamunkey. 
In  that  year,  a  large  tribe  of  Indians,  called  Rechahecrians,  came 
down  from  the  inland  mountainous  country,  and  forcibly  took 
possession  of  the  country  about  the  falls  of  James  river.  The 
legislature  of  Virginia  was  then  in  session,  and  it  determined  to 
send  an  armed  force  to  dispossess  the  intruders.  For  that  pur 
pose,  one  hundred  men  were  raised,  and  put  under  command  of 
Captain  Edward  Hill,  who  was  joined  by  Totopotomoi,  with  one 
hundred  Indians.  This  force  did  not  find  the  Rechahecrians 
unprepared.  A  bloody  battle  ensued.  Of  the  detail,  we  are  not 
informed.  The  result,  however,  was  disastrous  to  the  allies. 
Totopotomoi,  with  most  of  his  warriors,  was  slain,  and  the  Eng 
lish  totally  defeated,  owing,  it  was  said,  to  the  criminal  conduct 
of  Captain  Hill.  This  officer  lost  his  commission,  and  his  pro 
perty  was  taken  to  defray  the  losses  of  the  country.  A  peace 
Beems  to  have  been  concluded  with  the  Rechahecrians  soon  after. 

The  Indians  renewed  hostilities  some  years  after,  during  the 
administration  of  Sir  William  Berkeley,  when  the  declining  state 
of  the  colony  seemed  to  offer  impunity  to  attack.  The  remote 
settlements  were  first  assailed,  and  then  incursions  made  into  the 
interior  of  the  country.  The  dissensions  of  the  colonists  pre 
vented  them  from  taking  measures  of  defence  or  retaliation.  At 
this  time  began  the  rebellion  of  Nathaniel  Bacon.  That  daring 
leader  raised  a  large  force  to  march  against  the  Indians;  but  the 
refusal  of  Berkeley  to  sanction  his  commission,  led  him  to  em 
ploy  his  men  in  the  overthrow  of  the  government  at  Jamestown. 
The  Indians  were  compelled  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace  as 
soon  as  the  rebellion  was  suppressed.  This  was  their  last  serious 
war  with  the  Virginia  settlers.  As  the  whites  advanced  into  the 


OPKKANKANOUGH  BBPRQYHffO  SIE  WILLIAM  BEfiKELBT. 


OF  THE  COLONISTS  OP  VIRGINIA. 


39 


country  with  rapid  strides,  the  tribes  which  had  given  the  early 
settlers  much  trouble,  were  either  totally  destroyed,  or  retired  to 
the  farther  west.  The  kingdom  of  Powhatan  was  in  possession 
of  the  whites,  and  the  desperate  measures  of  Opekankanough 
were  remembered  but  as  the  last  efforts  of  a  conquered  nation. 


SETTIJUrBNT  0?  BOSTON. 


CHAPTER   III. 

EARLY   INDIAN   WARS   IN   NEW   ENGLAND. 

THE  history  of  the  settlers  of  New  England  is  fraught  with 
the  troubles  of  Indian  hostilities.  In  1620,  a  company  belonging 
to  Mr.  Robinson's  church,  at  Leyden,  in  Holland,  foreseeing 
many  inconveniences  likely  to  increase,  from  the  residence  of 
English  dissenters  under  a  foreign  government,  and  hoping  to 
find  an  asylum,  and  a  refuge  from  persecution  in  the  New  World,, 
applied  to  King  James  for  liberty  to  place  themselves  in  some 
part  of  New  England;  and  obtained  a  grant  of  some  place  about 
Hudson  river.  They  set  sail  from  Plymouth,  in  September,  and 
after  a  boisterous  passage  found  themselves  in  Massachusetts 
Bay,  considerably  to  the  north  of  their  destination.  But  the 
approach  of  winter,  and  other  causes,  forced  them  to  land  at  the 
nearest  convenient  spot,  and  on  the  22d  of  December,  1620,  they 
disembarked  upon  the  spot  afterwards  called  Plymouth.  The 
settlers  numbered  one  hundred  and  one  persons.  After  this 
beginning,  other  settlements  were  established  at  favorable  points 
on  the  coast. 
(40) 


IN  NEW  ENGLAND.  43 

The  principal  tribes  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  settlers,  were 
the  Pequods,  the  Mohicans,  the  Narragansetts,  and  the  Wam- 
panoags.  Some  of  these  Indians  displayed  their  hostility  soon 
after  the  settlement  was  begun  at  Plymouth;  but  the  majority 
of  them  seemed  disposed  to  friendship.  On  the  16th  of  March, 
1621,  the  whites  were  surprised  by  an  Indian  coming  boldly 
alone  into  Plymouth,  and  crying  out,  " Welcome,  Englishmen! 
welcome,  Englishmen  !"  He  was  the  sagamore  of  a  neighboring 
tribe,  and  named  Samoset.  He  had  learned  to  speak  broken 
English  from  the  fishermen,  who  came  to  the  coast.  Through 
his  influence,  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  Massasoit,  the  greatest 
king  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  it  was  observed  by  him  for 
fifty  years. 

The  Narragan setts  early  manifested  enmity  to  the  English;  but 
were  daunted  by  the  resolution  and  activity  of  Miles  Standish  and 
his  few  men.  Massasoit  revealed  a  plot  of  the  Massachusetts  In 
dians  to  attack  the  settlers  at  Wessagusset;  and  Standish,  taking 
with  him  eight  men,  proceeded  to  the  place  where  the  conspirators 
met,  and  killed  them  all.  A  skirmish  with  a  party  of  Indians 
followed,  in  which  they  were  put  to  flight.  The  Wessagusset 
settlers,  however,  abandoned  that  place  and  returned  to  Ply 
mouth.  The  Indians  were  awed  by  this  prompt  display  of  power. 
They  wanted  a  Philip  to  teach  them  their  strength. 

As  the  number  of  settlements  increased,  and  spread  to  Con 
necticut  and  Massachusetts,  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  was 
awakened.  Several  schemes  of  Miantonimo,  the  chief  of  the 
Narragansetts,  were  detected,  and  their  execution  prevented.  All 
the  Indians  east  and  west  of  the  Connecticut  river,  except  the 
Pequods,  became  tributary  to  the  first  settlers  of  Connecticut. 
The  Pequods  had  spread  their  conquests  over  a  vast  extent  of 
country,  and  were  superior  to  all  other  tribes  except  the  Narra 
gansetts.  Between  these  two,  a  deadly  feud  existed.  Sassacus 
was  the  first  chief  of  the  Pequods  known  to  the  English.  He 
considered  the  settlers  as  invaders  of  his  country,  and  was  at  all 
times  anxious  to  repel  them. 

It  is  not  surely  ascertained  which  party  gave  the  provocation 
which  led  to  the  Pequod  war.  The  English  relate  that  the 
Pequods  murdered  the  captain  and  crew  of  a  vessel  which  sailed 
into  the  Connecticut  river,  in  1633.  The  Indians  admitted  the 
murder,  but  asserted  that  Captain  Stone  had  taken  two  of  their 
men  by  force,  to  pilot  his  vessel  up  the  river.  This  matter,  how 
ever,  was  amicably  settled  by  treaty.  Other  outrages  followed, 
the  perpetrators  taking  refuge  among  the  Pequods,  who  would 
not  yield  them  upon  demand  of  the  English.  The  governor  of 
Connecticut  then  sent  Captain  John  Endicott,  with  ninety  men, 
against  them.  On  the  arrival  of  Endicott  in  the  Pequod  country, 


44  INDIAN  WARS 

the  Indians  retreated  into  a  swamp,  where  it  was  difficult  to  oome 
at  them.  Only  two  were  killed,  but  the  English  burned  their 
wigwams,  and  then  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Narragansetts, 
who  could  bring  five  thousand  fighting  men  into  the  field. 

The  Pequods,  emboldened  by  Endicott's  failure,  continued 
their  predatory  incursions.  They  killed  several  men  and  women, 
and  a  large  number  of  cattle.  The  colony  determined  to  make 
another  and  a  greater  effort  to  stop  their  proceedings.  In  the 
month  of  May,  1636,  a  force  from  Connecticut,  under  John 
Mason,  consisting  of  ninety  Englishmen,  and  about  seventy  Mo 
hicans,  under  the  command  of  the  sachem,  Uncas,  departed  for 
the  Pequod  country.  Arriving  at  Saybrook,  Mason  sent  back 
part  of  his  men  to  protect  the  settlements  on  the  Connecticut. 
He  was  soon  afterwards  joined  by  a  great  number  of  Indians;  so 
that  when  he  set  out,  he  was  at  the  head  of  nearly  six  hundred 
men.  He  arrived  in  sight  of  the  fort  erected  by  the  Pequods, 
about  sunset.  The  Narragansetts  could  not  be  persuaded  to 
attack  an  enemy  in  a  fort;  and  a  portion  of  them  retired, 
while  the  rest  formed  themselves  into  a  semi-circle  at  some  dis 
tance,  to  intercept  such  Pequods  as  should  escape  the  English. 

Mason  approached  the  fort  just  before  daybreak.  It  would 
have  been  surprised  but  for  the  barking  of  a  dog,  which  roused 
the  garrison  to  a  knowledge  of  its  danger.  They  made  a  vigorous 
resistance,  and  the  assailants  were  finally  obliged  to  set  fire  to 
the  fort.  The  Pequods  then  rushed  through  the  flames  to 
escape,  but  were  nearly  all  killed.  Between  five  and  six  hundred 
of  them  perished  in  the  battle.  The  English  lost  two  men  killed, 
and  sixteen  were  wounded.  Sassacus,  who  was  in  another  fort, 
hearing  of  the  battle,  sent  three  hundred  men  to  assist  his  coun 
trymen.  This  body  was  encountered  by  Mason,  and  obliged  to 
retire  to  the  top  of  the  hill  on  which  the  fort  had  stood.  On 
seeing  its  ruins,  they  became  so  enraged,  that  they  lost  all  fear, 
and  rushed  down  upon  the  English  with  such  force,  that  the 
latter  were  compelled  to  make  a  rapid  retreat  of  six  miles,  when 
they  reached  their  vessels  and  returned  to  Hartford. 

The  three  hundred  Pequods  returned  to  Sassacus.  A  council 
was  then  he]d,  and  it  was  settled,  that  the  tribe  could  no  longer 
remain  in  safety  in  the  country.  Accordingly,  they  dispersed, 
and  Sassacus,  having  destroyed  the  village,  proceeded  towards 
the  Hudson  river.  Hearing  of  Mason's  brilliant  success,  the 
goyernor  of  Massachusetts  sent  an  expedition  to  destroy  all 
straggling  parties  which  might  remain  in  the  neighborhood.  A 
great  battle  was  fought  at  a  swamp  in  Fairfield,  in  which  a  large 
number  of  the  savages  were  killed,  and  about  two  hundred  taken. 
Sassacus,  however,  was  destined  to  meet  his  death  from  the  red 
man's  hand.  He  fled  to  the  country  of  the  powerful  Mohawks. 


f HX  TKEATT  WITH  MAS8ASOIT, 


IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 


47 


These  Indians,  instead  of  protecting  him,  put  him  to  death,  and 
sent  his  head  to  Connecticut.  The  few  Pequods  who  remained 
alive,  took  refuge  among  the  surrounding  tribes,  and  their  nation 
lived  but  in  memory. 

The  destruction  of  this  large  and  powerful  tribe  was  the  only 
measure  which  could  secure  the  colonists  from  their  constant 
hatred  and  annoyance.  Between  the  white  and  the  red  man,  it 
was  a  struggle  fer  self-preservation,  and  an  unbiassed  judgment 
will  consider  the  circumstances  in  which  the  colonists  were  placed 
before  condemning  them  for  unnecessary  cruelty.  The  fate  of 
the  Pequods  was  a  terrible  one ;  but  it  served  a  very  important 
purpose  in  striking  awe  upon  the  other  tribes ;  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt,  that  the  dreadful  massacre  of  this  tribe  was 
instrumental  in  preserving  the  long  peace  which  intervened  be 
tween  that  event  and  the  terrible  war  with  King  Philip,  which 
will  form  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

KING   PHILIP'S   WAR. 

THE  treaty  of  peace  concluded  between  Massasoit  and  the 
English  at  Plymouth,  soon  after  the  landing  of  the  latter,  was 
maintained  faithfully  until  after  the  death  of  that  sachem.  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  whom  the  English  had  named  Alex 
ander.  Although  this  chief  displayed  on  all  occasions  a  decided 
friendship  for  his  white  neighbors,  his  death  was  either  caused 
entirely,  or  hastened,  by  their  suspicious  violence.  Suspecting 
that  Alexander  was  plotting  with  the  Narragan  setts  to  rise 
against  the  English,  the  council  of  Plymouth  resolved  to  bring 
him  before  them  to  answer  for  his  conduct.  The  following^ 
account  of  the  capture  and  death  of  the  chief,  is  taken  from  the' 
narrative  of  William  Hubbard,  a  contemporary  writer : — 

"  The  person  to  whom  that  service  was  committed,  was  a  pru 
dent  and  resolute  gentleman,  the  present  governor  of  the  said 
colony,  (Winslow,)  who  was  neither  afraid  of  danger,  nor  yet 
willing  to  delay  in  a  matter  of  that  moment;  he,  forthwith, 
taking  eight  or  ten  stout  men  with  him,  well  armed,  intended  to 
have  gone  to  the  said  Alexander's  dwelling,  distant  at  least  forty 
miles  from  the  governor's  house,  but  by  a  good  providence,  he 
found  him  whom  he  went  to  seek  at  a  hunting  house,  within 
(48) 


OF   KING  PHILIP.  51 

six  miles  of  the  English  towns,  where  the  said  Alexander,  with 
about  eighty  men,  were  newly  come  in  from  hunting,  and  had  left 
their  guns  without  doors,  which  Major  Winslow,  with  his  small 
company,  wisely  seized,  and  conveyed  away,  and  then  went  into 
the  wigwam,  and  demanded  Alexander  to  go  along  with  him 
before  the  governor,  at  which  message  he  was  much  appalled,  but 
being  told  by  the  undaunted  messenger,  that  if  he  stirred  or  re 
fused  to  go,  he  was  a  dead  man;  he  was,  by  one  of  his  chief 
counsellors,  in  whose  advice  he  most  confided,  persuaded  to  go 
along  to  the  governor's  house;  but  such  was  the  pride  and  height 
of  his  spirit,  that  the  very  surprisal  of  him,  so  raised  his  choler 
and  indignation,  that  it  put  him  into  a  fever,  which,  notwith 
standing  all  possible  means  that  could  be  used,  seemed  mortal; 
whereupon,  entreating  those  that  held  him  prisoner,  that  he 
might  have  liberty  to  return  home,  promising  to  return  again  if 
he  recovered,  and  to  send  his  son  as  hostage  till  he  could  so  do ; 
on  that  consideration  he  was  fairly  dismissed,  but  died  before  he 
got  half  way  home." 

Surely,  this  act  was  a  violation  of  all  international  right. 
Alexander's  people  had  kept  unbroken  faith  with  the  English 
ever  since  1620.  Yet,  their  prince  was  surprised  and  deprived 
of  liberty,  without  the  sligh  est  proof  of  guilt,  which,  had  they 
even  possessed,  they  would  not  have  had  the  right  to  make  him 
a  captive.  This  was  one  amox  g  the  many  just  causes  of  the  ter 
rible  war  which  Alexander's  brother  was  about  to  begin. 

The  younger  brother  of  the  unfortunate  chief  succeeded  him 
as  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags.  He  had  been  named  Philip  by 
the  English  at  the  same  time  the  name  of  Alexander  was  given 
to  his  brother;  his  Indian  name  was  Metacomet.  He  was  already 
known  to  possess  an  active  and  haughty  spirit.  Doubtless,  the 
designs  of  Philip  were  formed  at  this  time ;  but  until  they  were 
sufficiently  matured,  he  kept  them  well  covered.  He  came  to 
Plymouth,  in  1662,  and  renewed  the  treaty  with  the  English, 
his  people  had  so  long  observed.  A  n  apparent  good  feeling  ex 
isted  between  the  parties  for  sever!  \  years  after  this.  During 
this  period,  Philip  entered  into  a  ar  against  the  Mohawks, 
whom  he  finally  defeated  in  1669. 

The  first  rupture  between  the  Wan\  Danoag  chief  and  the  colon 
ists,  occurred  in  April,  1671.  The  Plymouth  government  ac 
cused  him  of  meditating  hostilities,  and  arming  and  training  his 
warriors.  He,  in  return,  complained  of  encroachments  upon  his 
planting  grounds.  A  conference  was  held  at  Taunton,  at  which 
Philip  admitted  the  truth  of  the  charges  against  him,  promised 
amendment,  and  signed  a  new  treaty.  It  was  afterwards  made 
clear,  that  this  submission  was  but  to  gain  time.  With  the  same 
object,  he  visited  Boston,  in  August,  1671,  and  succeeded  in. 


52  INDIAN  WARS 

lulling  the  suspicions  of  the  Massachusetts  government.  Another 
conference  followed,  and  the  sachem  made  still  greater  promises 
to  the  governments  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts.  This  pur 
pose  was  fully  answered,  and  nothing  occurred  for  three  years  to 
rouse  the  suspicions  of  the  whites.  During  all  this  time,  Philip 
was  most  active  in  completing  the  vast  designs  which  he  had 
formed.  His  first  object  was,  the  union  of  all  the  New  England 
tribes;  and  to  effect  this,  he  used  all  the  arts  of  persuasion,  of 
which  he  was  a  master.  His  success  proves  his  ability.  From 
the  St.  Croix  to  the  Housatonic,  the  Indian  tribes  were  formed  into 
a  vast  confederacy,  of  which  Philip  was  acknowledged  as  the  head. 
The  Wampanoags  and  the  Narragansetts  were  the  most  powerful 
of  these  confederates. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  Philip's  taking  up  arms  was  this. 
An  Indian,  named  John  Sausaman,  who  had  been  educated  at 
Cambridge,  and  employed  as  a  schoolmaster  among  the  Chris 
tianized  Indians,  and  had  subsequently  joined  Philip,  and  acted 
as  his  confidential  secretary,  after  becoming  acquainted  with  his 
plans,  deserted  him,  and  turned  spy  and  informer.  *  In  January, 
1675,  the  body  of  Sausaman  was  found  thrust  under  the  ice  in 
Assawomset  Pond,  and  from  subsequent  developements,  it  was 
ascertained  that  he  had  been  murdered,  and  by  Philip's  orders. 
Three  Indians  were  convicted  of  the  murder,  and  executed  at 
Plymouth ;  and  Philip,  suspecting  that  an  attempt  would  be  made 
to  capture  him  for  trial,  resolved  to  anticipate  his  enemies'  pro 
jects,  and  begin  the  war  at  once. 

The  Wampanoags  sent  their  wives  and  children  to  the  Narra- 

fansetts  for  security,  and  began  to  threaten  the  inhabitants  of 
wanzey.  Growing  bolder,  they  killed  the  cattle,  and  rifled  the 
houses  of  the  English,  one  of  whom  fired  upon  and  wounded  an 
Indian.  This  was  the  trump  that  roused  both  parties  to  action. 
Several  of  the  inhabitants  of  Swanzey  were  murdered  on  the  24th 
of  June,  1675.  The  Plymouth  government  sent  information  of 
the  state  of  things  about  Mount  Hope  to  the  government  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  and  desired  their  speedy  assistance.  On  the  28th,  a 
foot  company,  under  Captain  Daniel  Henchman,  and  a  troop, 
under  Captain  Thomas  Prentice,  marching  from  Boston,  joined 
the  Plymouth  force,  under  Captain  Cud  worth,  at  Swanzey,  and 
marched  into  Philip's  country.  A  skirmish  with  the  Indians 
followed,  in  which  the  English  had  one  man  killed  and  one 
wounded,  but  succeeded  in  driving  their  enemies  to  their  swamp, 
with  the  loss  of  five  men.  At  the  same  time,  the  Indians  at 
tacked  Taunton,  Namasket,  and  Dartmouth,  burning  a  consider 
able  number  of  houses,  and  killing  many  of  the  inhabitants. 

On  the  15th  of  July,  Captain  Hutehinson  led  a  large  force 
into  the  Narragansett  country,  and  concluded  a  treaty  with  that 


OP  KING  PHILIP.  55 

tribe.  This  was  to  prevent  them  from  joining  the  forces  under 
Philip.  At  the  same  time,  Captain  Cudworth  despatched  Cap 
tain  Fuller  and  Lieutenant  Church,  with  fifty  men,  to  Pocasset, 
where  Philip  commanded,  either  to  conclude  a  peace,  if  the 
enemy  wished  it,  or  to  fight  them,  if  necessary.  This  force  was 
divided  into  two  parties  after  reaching  Pocasset,  Captain  Fuller 
leading  one  towards  the  sea  shore,  and  Church  marching  further 
into  the  neck.  Fuller  found  the  Indians  too  strong  for  him,  and 
after  some  skirmishing,  he  fled  to  the  sea  shore,  and  with  his 
men,  was  taken  off  by  a  sloop.  Church,  with  only  fifteen  men, 
found  the  Indians  in  great  force  near  the  peas-field ;  and  he,  too, 
was  forced  to  retreat  to  the  sea  shore,  where,  however,  he  valor- 
ously  defended  himself  against  the  great  numbers  of  the  Indians, 
until  all  the  ammunition  of  his  little  band  was  spent;  and  even 
then,  the  Indians  were  forced  to  let  the  sloop  take  them  off  in 
safety.  In  this  skirmish,  the  colonists  killed  fifteen  of  the  In 
dians,  and  did  not  lose  a  man. 

After  obtaining  a  reinforcement  from  Rhode  Island,  Captain 
Church  boldly  returned,  to  Pocasset.  Another  skirmish  followed, 
in  which  the  Indians  lost  fourteen  or  fifteen  men,  and  Philip  was 
then  forced  to  retreat  to  a  great  swamp.  Not  being  able  to  reach 
the  enemy  in  this  strong  hold,  Church  held  them  at  bay  until 
the  arrival  of  the  main  body  of  the  Plymouth  troops,  and  then 
the  whole  pushed  further  into  the  swamp.  As  the  contemporary 
writer,  Hubbard,  quaintly  remarks  :  "  It  is  ill  fighting  with  a 
wild  beast  in  his  own  den;"  and  so  the  Plymouth  men  found  it. 
They,  therefore,  resolved  to  starve  the  enemy  into  submission- 
Philip  knew  his  doom  if  he  should  become  a  prisoner  to  the  Eng 
lish,  and  was  determined  never  to  fall  alive  into  their  hands. 
Selecting  about  two  hundred  of  his  best  warriors,  he  contrived  to 
cross  an  arm  of  the  sea  near  the  swamp,  and  thus  escaped  into 
the  country  of  the  Nipmucks.  In  the  same  manner,  all  but  one 
hundred  of  the  women  and  children,  who  submitted  to  the  Eng 
lish,  succeeded  in  getting  away.  Upon  discovering  this,  the 
English  set  off  in  pursuit,  aided  by  the  Mohican  Indians.  About 
thirty  of  Philip's  men  were  cut  off  from  the  rear  and  slain;  the 
rest  escaped  unharmed. 

The  Nipmucks  had  already  commenced  hostilities  by  killing 
five  persons  at  Mendham.  Without  being  aware  of  this,  Captain 
Hutchinson,  with  twenty  horse,  marched  into  their  country  to 
reclaim  the  fugitives.  He  fell  into  an  ambuscade  at  Brookfield, 
on  the  2d  of  August,  and  lost  sixteen  men.  An  attack  was  then 
made  upon  that  town ;  but  the  arrival  of  Major  Willard,  with 
forty-eight  dragoons,  saved  it  from  destruction.  Philip  joined 
the  Nipmucks  on  the  next  day.  At  this  time,  the  Indians  on 
the  Connecticut  river  commenced  hostilities.  Captains  Lothrop 


56  INDIAN  WARS 

and  Beers,  with  a  small  force,  drove  the  Hadley  Indians  from 
their  dwellings,  and  pursued  them  to  Sugarloaf  Hill,  ten  miles 
distant,  where  a  skirmish  took  place,  in  which  nine  or  ten  of  the 
English  were  slain,  and  about  twenty-six  of  the  Indians;  the  re» 
mainder  escaped,  and  soon  joined  Philip. 

Deerfield,  Hatfield,  and  other  places,  felt  the  force  of  the  In 
dian's  vengeance.  An  attack  upon  Hadley  was  repulsed,  chiefly 
through  the  exertions  of  Goffe,  one  of  the  judges  of  Charles  I., 
who  lay  concealed  in  that  town.  Several  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Northfield  were  killed;  and  the  next  day,  Captain  Beers,  with 
thirty-six  men,  marching  to  the  assistance  of  that  place,  was  way 
laid,  and  after  a  desperate  battle,  the  captain  and  twenty  men 
were  slain;  the  others  escaped  to  Hadley.  Northfield  was  soon 
after  destroyed  by  the  Indians. 

Captain  Lothrop,  with  about  eighty  men,  proceeding  from 
Deerfield  to  Hadley,  was  waylaid  near  Sugarloaf  Hill,  by  about 
seven  hundred  Indians,  and  after  a  hard  fought  battle,  nearly 
the  whole  party  was  destroyed.  The  report  of  the  guns  being 
heard  at  Deerfield,  Captain  Moscly  hastened  forward  to  the  relief 
of  Lothrop.  He  arrived  in  time  to  renew  the  fight,  and  being 
joined  by  Major  Treat,  with  a  force  of  English  and  Mohicans, 
he  compelled  the  foe  to  seek  safety  in  a  distant  forest.  As  the 
Indians  were  emboldened  by  the  destruction  of  Lothrop' s  party, 
and  the  English  forces  were  much  diminished,  Mosely  thought  it 
best  to  abandon  Deerfield,  and  employ  his  strength  in  defending 
the  three  next  towns  on  the  Connecticut  river. 

In  October,  the  Indians  of  Springfield,  so  long  friends  to  the 
whites,  formed  a  plan  to  burn  that  village,  and  received  into  their 
fort  about  three  hundred  of  Philip's  warriors.  A  friendly  Indian 
gave  the  inhabitants  warning  of  their  danger ;  but  they  were  too 
credulous,  and  suffered  themselves  to  be  deluded  until  the  time 
for  action  was  at  hand.  But  for  the  timely  arrival  of  Major 
Treat,  with  a  strong  body  of  troops,  the  whole  place  would  have 
been  destroyed.  As  it  was,  thirty-two  houses  met  the  fate  in 
tended  for  all.  On  the  19th  of  October,  Hadley  was  attacked 
by  seven  hundred  Indians;  but  the  valiant  conduct  of  the  troops 
stationed  at  that  place,  forced  them  to  retire.  After  this  repulse, 
the  Indians  all  retired  to  the  rendezvous  at  Narragansett.  The 
approach  of  winter  seemed  to  put  a  check  to  their  enterprises. 
In  all  the  operations  of  the  war  thus  far,  Philip  was  the  ruling 
spirit  among  his  countrymen.  His  activity,  bravery,  and  cun 
ning  had  been  displayed  on  all  occasions;  and  there  remained  no 
doubt  of  his  being  the  most  formidable  chief  the  English  ever 
had  to  encounter. 

A  a  meeting  of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  was 
held  on  the  9th  of  September.  It  was  concluded  that  the  war 


P  KING  PHILIP. 


59 


BUENINO  0?  SPRINGFIELD 


was  just,  and  that  it  should  be  prosecuted  to  the  utmost  of  their 
power.  It  was  resolved  to  raise  a  thousand  men  with  all  expe 
dition,  and  Josiah  Winslow,  the  governor  of  Plymouth,  was  ap 
pointed  commander  in  chief.  The  Narragansetts  were  considered 
as  the  accessories  of  Philip  in  his  outrages,  or,  as  many  will  say 
at  the  present  time,  his  allies  in  the  war;  and  hostilities  were  to 
be  directed  against  them. 

The  forces  of  the  three  colonies  assembled  at  Petaquamscut, 
on  the  18th  of  December,  and  marched  through  a  deep  snow  to 
wards  the  enemy.  The  Narragansetts  had  retired  to  a  small  piece 
of  dry  land,  in  a  great  swamp,  seven  miles  from  Newport.  Here 
they  collected  stores,  and  built  the  strongest  fort  they  ever  had 
in  this  country.  A  circle  of  palisades  was  surrounded  by  a 
fence  of  trees,  a  rod  in  thickness.  The  entrance  was  on  a  long 
tree  over  the  water,  that  only  one  person  could  pass  at  a  time. 
This  was  guarded  in  such  a  manner,  that  every  attempt  to  enter 
would  have  been  fatal.  By  the  help  of  Peter,  an  Indian  pri 
soner,  but  now  a  necessary  guide,  one  vulnerable  spot  was  dis 
covered  ;  at  one  corner  the  fort  was  not  raised  more  than  four  or 
five  feet  in  height,  opposite  to  this  spot  a  block  house  was  erected, 
so  that  a  torrent  of  balls  might  be  poured  into  the  gap 

General  Winslow,  with  fifteen  hundred  men  from  Massachu 
setts,  and  three  hundred  from  Connecticut,  with  one  hundred  and 
sixty  Indians,  being  arrived  near  the  place  about  one  o'clock, 
having  travelled  eighteen  miles  without  refreshment  or  rest,  dis 
covered  a  party  of  the  enemy,  upon  whom,  they  instantly  poured 


60 


INDIAN  WARS 


a  shower  of  balls;  the  Indians  returned  the  fire  and  fled  into  the 
fort,  The  English  pursued,  and  without  waiting  to  reconnoitre 
or  even  to  form,  rushed  into  the  fort  after  them;  but  so  terrible 
was  the  fire  from  the  enemy,  they  were  obliged  to  retire.  The 
whole  army  then  made  a  united  onset;  hardly  were  they  able  to 
maintain  their  ground  ;  some  of  their  bravest  captains  fell.  In 
this  awful  crisis,  while  the  scale  of  victory  hung  doubtful,  some 
of  the  Connecticut  men,  who  were  in  the  rear  on  the  opposite 
side,  where  was  a  narrow  place  destitute  of  palisades,  leaped 
over  the  fence  of  trees,  and  fell  on  the  rear  of  the  enemy.  This 
decided  the  contest.  They  were  soon  totally  routed. 

As  they  fled,  their  wigwams  were  set  on  fire.  Instantly  six 
hundred  of  their  dwellings  were  in  a  blaze.  Awful  was  the  mo 
ment  to  the  poor  savages.  Not  only  were  they  flying  from  their 
last  hope  of  safety,  and  from  their  burning  houses,  but  their  corn, 
their  provisions,  and  even  many  of  their  aged  parents  and  help 
less  children,  were  fuel  for  the  terrible  conflagration.  They 
could  behold  the  fire,  they  could  hear  the  last  cries  of  their  ex 
piring  families;  but  could  afford  them  no  relief.  Seven  hundred 
of  their  warriors  they  had  left  dead  on  the  field  of  battle;  three 


OP  KING  PHILIP.  61 

hundred  more  afterwards  died  of  their  wounds.  They  had  been 
driven  from  their  country,  and  from  their  pleasant  fire  sides: 
now,  their  last  hopes  were  torn  from  them;  their  cup  of  suffer 
ings  was  full. 

Sad  was  the  day  of  victory  to  the  English.  Six  brave  cap 
tains  fell  before  their  eyes;  eighty  men  were  killed  or  fatally 
wounded;  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  wounded  who  recovered. 
Twenty  fell  in  the  fort,  ten  or  twelve  died  the  same  day,  on  their 
march  back  to  their  camp,  which  they  reached  about  midnight ; 
it  was  cold  and  stormy,  and  the  snow  deep;  several  died  the  next 
morning,  so  that  this  day,  December  20th,  they  buried  thirty- 
four  in  one  grave.  By  the  22d,  forty  were  dead,  and  by  the  end 
of  January,  twenty  more.  Of  the  three  hundred  from  Connec 
ticut,  eighty  were  killed  or  wounded.  Of  their  five  captains, 
three  were  killed,  and  one  so  wounded,  that  he  never  recovered. 
In  the  fort  they  had  taken  a  large  number  of  prisoners,  about 
three  hundred  warriors,  and  as  many  women  and  children.  It 
was  supposed  that  four  thousand  natives  were  in  the  fort  when 
the  assault  was  made. 

The  natives  never  recovered  the  loss  of  this  day.  The  destruc 
tion  of  their  provisions  in  the  fort,  was  the  occasion  of  great  dis 
tresses  in  the  course  of  the  winter.  But  a  thaw,  in  January, 
gave  them  some  relief,  when  a  party  fell  on  Mendon,  and  laid  it 
in  ashes.  In  February,  they  received  some  recruits  from  Canada, 
when  they  burned  Lancaster,  and  took  forty  captives,  among 
whom  was  Mrs.  Rowlandson,  the  minister's  wife,  he  being  on  a 
journey  to  Boston  to  obtain  soldiers  for  their  defence.  Marlbo- 
rough,  Sudbury,  and  Chelmsford  soon  felt  the  terror  of  their 
arms.  February  21st,  they  penetrated  as  far  as  Medfield,  burned 
half  the  town,  and  killed  about  twenty  of  the  inhabitants;  in 
four  days  they  were  in  Weymouth  on  the  sea  shore,  and  in  the 
same  month,  they  dared  to  enter  Plymouth,  and  destroy  two 
families.  Had  they  been  so  disposed  fifty  years  before,  instead 
of  two  families,  they  might  easily  have  destroyed  the  whole 
colony.  In  March,  they  were  in  Warwick,  and  burned  the  town. 
They  were  pursued  by  Captain  Pierce,  with  fifty  English  and 
twenty  Indian  soldiers,  but  he  was  overpowered  by  numbers,  him 
self  and  forty-nine  of  the  English,  with  eight  of  the  Indians, 
being  slain,  after  they  had  killed  one  hundred  and  forty  of  the 
enemy.  The  same  day,  Marlborough  was  in  flames,  and  several 
people  were  killed  at  Springfield. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  a  party  of  one  hundred  soldiers  marched 
to  Deerfield,  and  surprised  a  large  party  of  Indians  stationed 
there.  The  red  men  could  make  but  little  resistance,  and  about 
three  hundred  men,  women,  and  children  were  either  killed  by 
the  English,  or  drowned  in  the  Connecticut  river.  Soon  after, 


62  INDIAN  WARS 

a  party  of  the  Indiana  rallied,  and  attacked  the  whites  with  great 
fury.  Captain  Turner  and  thirty-eight  men  were  killed.  The 
remainder  of  the  party  was  brought  off  by  Captain  Holyoke. 

In  revenge  for  the  loss  sustained  by  this  surprise  at  Deerfield, 
six  or  seven  hundred  Indians  appeared  before  Hatneld  on  the 
80th  of  May,  and  burning  several  houses  and  barns,  proceeded 
to  attack  the  houses  within  the  palisades.  The  approach  of  a 
body  of  young  men  from  Hadley,  compelled  them  to  desist;  and 
they  retired  with  the  loss  of  twenty-five  men.  The  Narragan- 
setts  were  nearly  all  driven  out  of  their  country  by  the  numerous 
volunteer  companies  of  the  English. 

Early  in  June,  Major  John  Talcot,  with  two  hundred  and 
fifty  soldiers,  and  two  hundred  Mohicans  and  Pequod  Indians 
marched  from  Norwich  into  the  Wabaquasset  country.  But  he 
found  it  entirely  deserted.  On  the  12th  of  June,  Hadley  was 
again  attacked  by  about  seven  hundred  Indians;  but  Talcot  ap 
peared,  and  drove  off  the  enemy.  On  the  3d  of  July,  the  same 
commander  came  up  with  the  main  body  of  the  Indians,  near  a 
large  cedar  swamp,  and  attacked  them  so  suddenly,  that  a  great 
number  were  killed  upon  the  spot.  The  remainder,  taking  re 
fuge  in  the  swamp,  were  surrounded  by  the  English,  and  a  still 
greater  number  were  killed  or  captured.  By  the  5th  of  July, 
when  Talcot  retired  to  Connecticut,  he  had  destroyed  or  taken 
above  three  hundred  Indians. 

Disheartened  by  such  disastrous  defeats,  the  Indians  began  to 
come  to  the  English  in  small  parties  and  surrender  themselves. 
Philip  fled  to  the-Maquas;  but  they  proving  hostile,  he  was 
compelled  to  return  to  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Hope.  But  his 
spirit  was  not  broken  yet.  "With  all  the  force  he  could  collect, 
he  fell  upon  Taunton  on  the  llth  of  July.  The  inhabitants  had 
received  timely  warning,  and  were  prepared.  Philip  was  com 
pelled  to  retire,  after  burning  a  few  houses.  During  the  month 
of  July,  the  troops  under  Captain  Mosely  and  Brattle,  and  the 
Plymouth  forces,  under  Major  Bradford,  killed  and  captured  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Indians  without  losing  a  man. 

About  the  same  time,  the  valiant  Captain  Church,  with  a  small 
party  of  eighteen  English  and  twenty-two  Indians,  fought  four 
battles  in  one  week,  killing  and  capturing  seventy-nine  of  the 
Indians,  without  losing  a  man.  On  the  25th  of  July,  thirty-six 
Englishmen  and  ninety  Christian  Indians,  from  Dedham  and  Med- 
field,  took  fifty  prisoners,  without  losing  one  of  their  own  number. 
Two  days  after,  Sagamore  John,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty 
Nipmucks,  submitted  to  the  English.  Upon  the  1st  of  August, 
Captain  Church  captured  twenty-three  Indians;  and  on  arriving 
at  Philip's  headquarters,  killed  and  captured  many  more. 

The  close  of  the  career  of  the  great  chief  who  had  inflicted  so 


OF  KING  PHILIP.  65 

much  upon  the  English,  as  the  invaders  of  his  country,  is  worthy 
of  particular  notice.  Quanonchet,  the  intimate  friend  of  Philip, 
venturing  near  the  enemy  with  a  few  followers,  was  pursued  and 
taken.  When  offered  life,  if  he  would  deliver  Philip  into  the 
hands  of  the  English,  he  nobly  refused.  They  condemned  him 
to  die  by  the  hands  of  three  young  Indian  chiefs.  The  hero  re 
plied,  that  he  " liked  it  well;  for  he  should  die  before  his  heart 
was  soft,  or  he  had  spoken  any  thing  unworthy  of  himself."  But, 
although  the  day  of  adversity  was  upon  Philip,  he  retained  his 
wife  and  child  as  a  consolation  until  after  he  took  refuge  at 
Mount  Hope.  While  there,  his  quarters  were  surprised,  and  the 
greater  part  of  his  people,  including  his  wife  and  child,  killed  and 
captured.  The  almost  deserted  chief  fled,  leaving  his  dearest 
ones  to  the  mercy  of  those  who  did  not  feel  that  virtue.  Though 
defeated,  and  hunted  like  a  wild  beast,  Philip  was  not  conquered. 

The  sorcerers  attempted  to  console  the  chief  with  the  assurance 
that  he  should  never  fall  by  the  hand  of  an  Englishman.  Gather 
ing  his  little  band  around  him,  he  took  refuge  in  an  almost  in 
accessible  swamp,  there  resolved  to  make  a  last  stand.  As  an 
instance  of  determined  spirit  and  hatred  of  the  English,  it  is 
related,  that  an-  Indian  proposed  to  make  peace  with  the  enemy. 
Philip  instantly  laid  him  dead  at  his  feet.  A  friend  or  relation 
of  this  man,  exasperated  at  the  deed,  fled  to  the  English  and 
offered  to  conduct  them  to  the  place  of  his  retreat.  Captain 
Church,  awake  to  the  importance  of  the  capture,  marched  with 
this  welcome  guide,  upon  his  certain  expedition.  Philip  had 
been  dreaming  the  night  before,  that  he  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  English,  and  was  telling  his  dream  to  his  men,  when 
Church  and  his  followers  rushed  in  upon  them.  The  battle  was 
short,  but  desperate.  Philip  fought  till  he  saw  almost  all  his 
men  fall  in  his  defence,  and  then  turried  and  fled.  He  was  pur 
sued  by  an  Englishman  and  an  Indian.  As  if  the  oracle  was  to 
be  fulfilled,  the  musket  of  the  former  would  not  go  off;  the  latter 
fired,  and  shot  him  through  the  heart.  Thus  fell  one  whose  acts 
proved  him  to  possess  the  abilities  of  a  great  prince.  The  colo 
nists  rejoiced  that  they  were  delivered  from  a  terrible  enemy,  and 
were  not  then  capable  of  forming  a  true  judgment  of  his  character. 
It  is  evident,  Philip  did  all  that  was  possible  for  an  untutored 
savage  chief  to  perform,  with  the  object  of  delivering  his  country 
from  those  he  looked  upon  as  invaders.  He  possessed  a  mind 
capable  of  forming  great  plans,  unwearying  activity  and  perse 
verance,  the  power  of  moulding  men  to  his  purposes,  and  with 
much  of  the  cruelty  implanted  by  savage  trainings,  had  some  of 
the  finest  of  human  feelings. 

Although  peace  was  not  established  securely  until  some  time 
after  Philip's  death,  the  war  may  be  said  to  have  virtually  ter- 
5 


66  INDIAN  WARS 

minated  by  it.  Annawon,  a  Wampanoag  chief,  with  a  few  fol 
lowers,  escaped  from  the  swamp,  and  for  awhile  threatened 
Swanzey.  This  chief  resolved  never  to  be  taken  alive  by  the 
English.  Captain  Church  pursued  him  with  a  considerable  body 
of  colonists  and  treacherous  Indians,  and  overtook  him  as  he  was 
preparing  a  meal  at  the  foot  of  a  precipice.  All  resistance  was 
useless,  and  Annawon  was  forced,  despite  his  resolution,  to  yield 
himself  and  followers  prisoners.  He  was  a  true  Indian  warrior. 
As  the  victorious  Church  passed  the  night  upon  the  spot  where 
Annawon  was  captured,  the  chief  recounted  the  injuries  he  had 
done  the  English,  and  the  valiant  deeds  he  had  performed  in 
many  wars,  with  a  feeling  of  pride  no  fear  of  death  could  tame. 
He  was  taken  to  Plymouth,  and  in  accordance  with  the  brutal 
policy  of  the  colonists,  was  beheaded. 

The  war  had  lasted  fourteen  months.  The  New  England 
colonists  had  lost  six  hundred  of  their  number,  killed ;  and  had 
thirteen  towns  totally,  and  eleven,  partially,  destroyed.  A  heavy 
debt  had  also  been  incurred  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  con 
test;  and  the  labors  of  the  Christian  missionaries  among  the  In 
dians  entirely  interrupted.  Two  or  three  powerful  tribes  of  the 
native  owners  of  the  soil  had  been  annihilated,  and  .the  remainder, 
lacking  the  spirit  of  Philip,  were  reduced  to  submission. 


CHAPTER  V. 
KING  WILLIAM'S  WAR. 

THE  territorial  disputes  of  the  English,  Spaniards,  and  French 
were  the  causes  of  frequent  contests  between  the  claimants,  in 
which  the  services  of  the  Indians  were  obtained  by  the  highest 
bidder.  In  the  south  the  Spaniards  instigated  the  savages  to 
commit  numerous  outrages,  and  the  French  were  equally  active 
and  successful  in  their  efforts  to  awaken  the  hostility  of  the 
northern  tribes  to  the  English.  To  the  Indians,  it  was  equally 
a  matter  of  indifference  which  of  the  white  nations  suffered — 
looking  upon  all  of  them  as  invaders  j  and  they  willingly  received 
the  presents  and  promises  of  the  French  and  Spaniards,  and  re 
paid  them  with  service  against  those  who  gave  none. 

The  war  commonly  called  by  the  colonists,  "  King  William's 
War/'  commenced  in  1688  and  ended  in  1697.  The  object  of 
the  French  was,  the  expulsion  of  the  English  from  the  northern 
and  middle  provinces.  The  English  directed  their  efforts  against 

(67) 


68  INDIAN  WARS 

Canada.  The  French  secured  the  services  of  the  greater  part  of 
the  Indians,  and  the  united  forces  spread  death  and  desolation  in 
all  directions.  The  first  hostilities  began  on  .the  eastern  border 
of  Maine,  where  the  boundary  was  in  continual  dispute.  In  the 
early  part  of  1688,  Sir  Edmund  Andross,  at  that  time  governor- 
general  of  New  England,  sailed  to  the  disputed  territory,  and 
plundered  the  house  and  chapel  of  the  Baron  St.  Castine,  who 
occupied  the  lands  under  a  grant  of  the  French  government. 
This  base  deed  provoked  the  baron  to  excite  the  Indians  to  war, 
pretences  for  which  were  not  wanting  on  their  part. 

The  first  blood  was  shed  at  North  Yarmouth,  in  September. 
In  the  Spring,  the  Penicook  Indians  joining  those  of  Saco,  they 
made  a  dreadful  slaughter  at  Cocheco.  Mesandouit,  being  hos 
pitably  lodged  at  Major  Waldron's,  in  the  night  opened  the  gate, 
and  a  hundred,  some  say  five  hundred,  Indians  rushed  into  the 
garrison,  murdered  the  major,  and  twenty-two  others,  took  twenty- 
nine  prisoners,  burned  four  or  five  houses,  and  fled,  loaded  with 
plunder.  The  captives  were  sold  to  the  French  in  Canada.  Four 
young  men  of  Saco  being  abroad,  were  killed;  twenty-four  men 
armed  went  forth  to  bury  them,  and  were  assaulted  by  such  a 
number,  that  they  retreated,  leaving  five  or  six  of  their  number 
dead.  In  August,  the  enemy  took  the  fort  at  Pemaquid ;  and 
so  frequent  were  their  assaults,  and  so  great  the  public  alarm, 
that  the  people  retired  to  Falmouth  for  safety.  The  same 
month,  Major  Swayn,  with  seven  or  eight  companies  from  Mas 
sachusetts,  relieved  the  garrison  at  Blue  Point,  which  was  beset 
with  Indians.  Major  Church,  with  another  party  of  English  and 
Christian  Indians  from  Plymouth  colony,  marched  to  the  east 
ward.  Swayn  making  his  headquarters  at  Berwick,  sent  Captain 
Wiswell  and  Lieutenant  Flag  on  a  scout.  Near  Winnipisiogee 
pond,  Flag  left  a  number  of  his  friendly  Indians,  who  continued 
there  a  number  of  days.  It  was  afterwards  discovered,  that  they 
had  an  interview  with  the  hostile  natives,  and  gave  them  all  the 
information  in  their  power.  So  strong  is  the  attachment  which 
binds  us  to  our  native  country,  that  often  the  bonds  of  gratitude, 
oaths,  and  religion,  like  Samson's  cords,  burst  asunder,  when 
they  interfere  with  this  passion. 

This  month  Casco  was  assaulted,  and  Captain  Bracket  was 
killed;  but  Captain  Hall  arriving,  a  serious  engagement  followed, 
which  was  supported  several  hours.  Of  the  English,  ten  or  twelve 
were  killed ;  the  enemy  fled ;  and  in  November  the  troops  were 
dismissed,  excepting  a  few  in  the  garrisons  at  Wells,  York,  Ber 
wick,  and  Cocheco.  The  next  spring,  1690,  the  French  and  In 
dians  fell  upon  Salmon  Falls,  burned  the  greatest  part  of  the 
town,  killed  about  thirty  persons,  and  took  fifty  prisoners.  Artel 
was  the  French  commander  of  this  party.  On  their  way  to  Ca- 


OF  KING  WILLIAM.  69 

nada,  one  of  their  captives,  Robert  Rogers,  endeavoring  to  escape, 
was  overtaken,  stripped,  beaten,  tied  to  a  tree;  and  burned  alive. 
The  savages  dancing  and  singing  round  him,  cutting  off  pieces 
of  his  flesh  and  throwing  them  in  his  face 

In  1690,  Count  de  Frontignac,  the  able  govenfor  of  Canada, 
sent  out  three  expeditions  against  the  English  colonies.  The 
first  of  these  marched  against  Schenectady,  a  fortified  and  well 
built  village,  about  twenty  miles  above  Albany.  The  party 
consisted  of  about  two  hundred  French  and  fifty  Mohawks.  After 
a  long  and  dreary  march  through  the  deep  snow,  in  bitter  cold 
weather,  they  arrived  near  Schenectady  upon  the  8th  of  February. 
The  inhabitants  were  lulled  into  the  belief  of  their  security,  and 
no  watch  was  kept.  Th%  village  was  then  in  the  form  of  a  long 
square,  with  a  gate  at  each  end.  One  gate  was  not  only  left 
open,  but  unguarded.  The  French  and  Indians  entered  through 
this,  about  the  middle  of  the  night,  and  dividing  into  small 
parties,  they  waylaid  every  portal;  and  then  the  piercing  war 
whoop  startled  the  slumberers  from  their  beds.  Death  met  them 
in  all  directions.  The  garrison  made  a  slight  resistance;  but  were 
soon  silenced.  For  two  hours  the  bloody  work  went  on.  All 
the  cruelty  attendant  upon  Indian  warfare  seemed  to  be  refined 
or  outdone  at  this  devoted  village.  Sixty-seven  persons  were 
put  to  death,  forty  were  made  captives;  and  of  those  who  fled 
towards  Albany,  twenty-five  lost  their  limbs  by  the  frost.  The 
French,  having  totally  destroyed  Schenectady,  retired,  loaded 
with  plunder. 

The  second  French  expedition  proceeded  against  the  settlement 
at  Salmon  Falls.  This  party,  consisting  of  fifty  French  and  In 
dians,  attacked  the  village  just  before  day  break.  Here  the 
inhabitants  made  'a  desperate  resistance,  but  were  overpowered, 
and  most  of  them  killed  or  captured.  As  the  assailants  retired, 
they  were  attacked  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  men;  but  succeeded 
in  escaping  with  some  loss.  The  third  expedition  attacked  Casco, 
where  a  number  of  soldiers  were  stationed.  The  garrison  de 
fended  themselves  while  their  ammunition  lasted ;  and  then  took 
refuge  in  a  fort  situated  in  a  deep  gully.  This  was  attacked, 
after  the  town  hand  been  burned.  The  soldiers  withstood  a  siege 
of  five  days,  and  then  the  remnant  agreed  to  capitulate.  The 
French  commander  broke  his  promise  of  safety  to  his  prisoners. 
Most  of  them  were  butchered,  and  the  rest  taken  to  Canada. 

The  garrisons  at  Papoodack,  Spurwink,  Black  Point,  and  Blue 
Point,  were  so  alarmed,  that  without  orders,  they  retreated  to 
Saco,  twenty  miles  within  Casco;  and  from  Saco,  twenty  miles 
further  to  Wells,  and  some  of  them  came  on  further;  but  recruits 
arriving,  they  were  inspired  with  new  courage.  Soon  after  Hope- 
hood,  a  chief  warrior,  who  had  lived  in  Boston,  had  a  skirmish 


70 


INDIAN  WABS 


CAPTAUT  OOJTTKRS  BURYING  THE  CHAD, 


with  Captain  Sherburn,  and  the  next  Sabbath  his  party  killed  a 
man,  and  burned  several  houses  at  Berwick.  Three  days  after, 
at  Fox  Point,  on  Piscataqua,  he  burned  a  number  of  houses,  took 
six  prisoners,  and  killed  twelve  persons.  Captains  Greenleaf  and 
Floyd  came  up  with  him  soon  after,  killed  part  of  his  company, 
retook  some  of  the  captives,  and  a  great  part  of  their  plunder. 

At  Spruce  creek,  they  killed  an  old  man,  and  took  a  woman 
captive.  July  4th,  nine  persons  being  at  work  in  a  field  by  Lam- 
pereel  river,  all  were  killed.  The  same  day,  Captains  Wiswel 
and  Floyd  marched  from  Portsmouth  to  search  the  woods.  The 
next  day,  the  garrison  at  Exeter  was  assaulted,  but  relieved  by 
Lieutenant  ^Bancroft  with  the  loss  of  several  men.  One  of  them, 
Simon  Stone,  being  shot  in  nine  places,  lay  as  .if  dead  among  the 
slain;  the  Indians  coming  to  strip  him,  attempted  by  two  blows 
of  a  hatchet  to  sever  his  head  from  his  body :  though  they  did 
not  effect  it,  the  wounds  were  dreadful;  our  people  coming  upon 
them  suddenly,  they  did  not  scalp  him;  while  burying  the  dead, 
Stone  was  observed  to  gasp;  an  Irishman  present,  advised  them 
to  give  him  another  blow  of  the  hatchet,  and  bury  him  with  the 
rest;  but  his  kind  neighbors  poured  a  little  water  into  his  mouth, 
then  a  little  spirits,  when  he  opened  his  eyes;  the  Irishman  was 
ordered  to  haul  a  canoe  on  shore,,  in  which  the  wounded  man 


OP  KING  WILLIAM.  71 

might  be  carried  to  a  surgeon ;  carelessly  pulling  it  along  with 
his  gun,  it  went  off,  broke  nis  arm,  and  rendered  him  a  cripple 
while  he  lived.  Stone,  in  a  short  time,  perfectly  recovered.  In 
two  days,  Floyd  and  Wiswel  came  upon  the  enemy  at  Wheel- 
right's  pond.  Fifteen  of  the  English  wer"e  slain,  among  whom 
were  Captain  Wiswel,  Lieutenant  Flag,  and  Sergeant  Walker;  a 
great  number  were  wounded.  Captain  Convers  was  sent  to  bury 
the  dead,  and  bring  off  the  wounded. 

The  same  week,  Amesbury  was  assaulted ;  three  persons  killed, 
and  three  houses  burned;  Captain  Foot  was  tortured  to  death. 
In  September,  Major  Church,  with  three  hundred  men,  landed 
in  Casco  bay,  at  Macquoit,  and  marched  to  Androscoggin  fort, 
took  and  killed  twenty  Indians,  set  five  captives  at  liberty;  and 
burned  the  fort.  On  their  return,  they  sent  a  party  from  Winter 
Harbor  up  the  river,  who  fell  on  the  enemy,  killed  some,  took 
considerable  plunder,  and  relieved  an  Englishman  from  captivity. 
At  Casco  Harbor  the  enemy,  in  the  night,  fell  on  them  and 
killed  five,  but  were  soon  driven  to  the  woods.  The  army,  ex 
cepting  one  hundred  men,  was  then  dismissed. 

The  country  was  now  in  a  distressed  situation ;  the  disappoint 
ment  and  losses  in  the  Canada  expedition,  and  a  murderous  In 
dian  war,  which  lasted  for  several  years,  had  exhausted  the  re 
sources,  and  sunk  the  spirits  of  the  people.  In  this  period  of 
discouragement,  the  people  were  joyfully  surprised  with  overtures 
of  peace  from  the  savages;  a  conference  was  held  at  Sagadahoc; 
ten  prisoners  were  restored,  and  a  truce  established  till  the  1st 
of  May,  1692.  Instead  of  appearing  in  May  at  the  garrison 
in  Wells,  with  all  their  captives,  to  sign  articles  of  a  lasting 
peace,  according  to  agreement,  on  the  9th  of  June,  the  place  was 
assaulted  by  two  hundred  Indians;  but,  being  courageously  re 
pulsed,  they  retired.  About  the  same  time,  they  killed  two  men 
at  Exeter,  two  at  Berwick,  and  five  hundred  and  six  at  Cape 
Neddock.  In  the  latter  part  of  July,  a  number  of  troops  having 
explored  the  Pejepscot  region,  to  no  purpose,  while  going  on 
board  their  vessels,  at  Macquoit,  were  violently  assailed  all 
night;  but  their  vessels  secured  them,  in  a  great  measure  against 
harm. 

In  mercy  to  New  England,  the  force  of  the  savages  was  this 
year  exceedingly  restrained.  Yet,  September  28th,  seven  per 
sons  were  killed  and  taken  captive  at  Berwick,  and  the  next  day, 
twenty-one  were  taken  from  Sandy  Beach.  October  23d,  in 
Rowley,  Byfield  parish,  Mr.  Goodridge,  his  wife,  and  two  of  his 
daughters,  were  killed.  He  was  shot  while  praying  in  his  family; 
it  was  Sabbath  evening.  Another  daughter  was  taken  captive, 
but  redeemed  the  next  spring,  at  the  expense  of  the  province* 


72  INDIAN  WARS 

She  lived  eighty-two  years  after,  and  died  in  Beverly,  1774, 
aged  eighty-nine.  Her  name  was  Deborah  Duty. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  1692,  several  hundred  Indians  as 
saulted  York;  took  a  hundred  captives,  and  killed  fifty,  among 
whom  was  their  faithful  minister,  the  Rev.  Shubael  Dummer. 
The  remaining  people  were  so  discouraged,  that  they  were  about 
leaving  the  town,  when  the  government  sent  Captains  Greenleaf 
and  Convers  to  protect  them. 

About  this  time,  the  English  fell  on  a  party  in  Cocheco  woods, 
took  and  killed  all  but  one;  but  the  most  valorous  exploit  hap 
pened  at  "Wells.  Captain  Convers  displayed  the  courage  of  Le- 
onidas,  with  more  success.  He  had  fifteen  men  in  the  garrison ; 
little  more  than  a  gun  shot  off,  in  two  sloops,  were  fifteen  more, 
who  had  just  brought  ammunition  and  stores  for  the  garrison. 
In  this  situation,  he  was  assaulted  by  an  army  of  five  hundred 
French  and  Indians.  Monsieur  Burniff  was  general,  and  Labro- 
cree,  a  principal  commander.  They  were  supported  by  the  most 
distinguished  chieftains  of  different  tribes.  Warumbo,  Egeremet, 
Moxus,  and  Modocawando,  names  of  terror  in  those  times^  were 
present,  with  their  chosen  warriors.  After  a  speech  from  one  of 
their  orators,  with  shouts  and  yells,  they  poured  a  volley  upon 
the  garrison,  which  returned  the  fire  with  so  much  spirit  and 
success,  that  the  besiegers  retired  to  attack  the  sloops.  The  ves 
sels  lay  in  a  creek,  rather  than  a  river,  which  at  low  water  was 
barely  wide  enough  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  leaping  on  board. 
From  a  turn  of  the  creek,  they  could  approach  so  near,  as  to 
throw  handfuls  of  mud  on  board,  without  being  exposed  them 
selves.  A  stack  of  hay  and  a  pile  of  plank,  were  also  places  of 
security,  whence  they  could  pour  showers  of  balls  upon  the  sloops ; 
while  their  great  numbers  allowed  them  to  place  parties  of  men 
to  prevent  any  assistance  from  the  garrison.  Several  times  they 
set  the  sloops  on  fire,  by  shooting  burning  arrows;  but  by  the 
vigilance  of  the  crews,  under  Captain  Storer  and  Captain  Gouge, 
they  were  extinguished.  Resistance  was  so  formidable,  that  they 
again  returned  to  the  garrison,  and  then  again  they  assaulted  the 
sloops.  Various  and  bold  were  their  stratagems.  On  a  pair  of 
wheels  they  built  a  platform,  with  a  raised  front  that  was  bullet 
proof.  This,  loaded  with  French  and  Indians,  was  pushed  to 
ward  the  sloops;  the  terrific  machine  of  death  slowly  advanced; 
it  proceeded  by  the  side  of  the  channel,  bursting  with  smoke  and 
fire,  till  witnin  fifteen  yards  of  the  sloop;  one  wheel  sunk  in  the 
mire;  a  Frenchman  stepped  to  lift  the  wheel;  Storer  levelled 
his  gun,  and  he  fell;  another  took  his  place,  and  again  Storer 
took  aim,  and  he  fell  by  his  fellow.  Soon  the  tide  rose  and 
overturned  their  rolling  battery;  the  men  were  exposed  to  the 
deadly  fire  of  the  sloops,  and  fell  or  fled  in  every  direction. 


OF  KING  WILLIAM.  73 

Their  next  project  was  to  build  a  kind  of  fire  ship,  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet  square,  loaded  with  combustible  substance;  this  raft 
of  fire,  they  guided  as  near  the  vessels  as  they  dared,  and  the 
tide  wafted  the  blazing  pile  directly  towards  the  trembling  sloops. 
Never  were  men  in  a  more  awful  situation.  In  this  moment  of 
distress,  they  cried  unto  God,  and  He  heard  them.  To  the 
amazement  of  all,  the  wind  suddenly  changed,  and  with  a  fresh 
gale  drove  the  floating  destruction  on  shore,  so  shattered,  that 
the  water  broke  in,  and  extinguished  the  fire.  Thus,  after  alter 
nately  attacking  the  garrison  and  vessels  for  forty-eight  hours, 
exhausting  their  strength,  expending  their  ammunition,  losing 
one  of  their  French  commanders,  and  a  number  of  their  men; 
they  sullenly  retreated,  having  killed  one  -man,  and  a  number  of 
cattle,  and  taken  one  prisoner;  him  they  tortured,  and  killed  in 
a  most  terrible  manner. 

This  summer,  a  formidable  stone  fort  was  built  at  Pemaquid. 
Early  in  the  summer  of  1693,  Major  Church  received  the  com 
mand  of  the  troops  in  the  eastern  country,  with  orders  to  raise 
three  hundred  and  fifty  more.  He  surprised  and  took  a  party  of 
the  enemy,  not  far  from  Wells ;  then  marched  to  Pemaquid,  Ta- 
conet,  and  Saco,  but  found  no  enemies.  At  Saco,  he  ordered  a 
fort  to  be  built.  About  this  time,  the  Indians  alarmed  Quabaog, 
or  Brookfield,  and  killed  a  number  of  persons ;  but  they  were 
pursued,  most  of  them  killed,  and  their  captives  and  plunder  re 
taken.  The  Indians  had  now  become  tired  of  the  war;  they  had 
some  serious  fears  respecting  the  Maquas,  and  sued  for  peace, 
which  was  willingly  granted  them.  A  treaty  was  signed,  May  11, 
1693. 

But  the  exertions  of  the  French  soon  induced  the  Indians  to 
renew  the  contest.  Early  in  1694,  the  Sieur  Villion,  commander 
of  the  French  at  Penobscot,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  the 
St.  John,  Penobscot,  and  Norridgewock  Indians,  attacked  the 
settlements  on  Oyster  riveT,  in  New  Hampshire.  About  one 
hundred  persons  were  killed  or  captured,  and  twenty  houses 
burned.  During  the  attack,  a  man  named  Thomas  Bickford, 
defended  his  house  himself  against  the'whole  force  of  the  enemy. 
He  changed  his  dress  as  often  as  possible,  and  kept  up  a  constant 
fire,  as  he  gave  orders  as  if  he  had  many  men  with  him.  Ap 
prehending  the  approach  of  reinforcements  of  Englishmen,  the 
French  hastily  retreated  through  the  woods  in  their  usual  man 
ner.  But,  before  they  left  the  neighborhood  entirely,  a  number 
of  settlers  on  the  Piscataqua  were  killed  and  their  houses  burned. 

The  ravages  on  the  frontiers  were  continued  by  the  Indians ; 
but  no  considerable  enterprise  was  undertaken  until  October, 
1695.  In  that  month,  a  party  penetrated  to  Newbury,  and  made 
captives  of  John  Brown  and  his  family,  except  one  girl,  who 


74  INDIAN  WARS 

alarmed  the  people  of  Newburyport,  five  miles  distant.  Captain 
G-reenleaf  instantly  pursued,  and  before  daybreak  on  the  next 
day  after  starting,  overtook  the  foe  and  rescued  the  captives,  nine 
in  number.  When  the  Indians  found  it  impossible  to  carry  off 
their  prisoners,  they  tried  to  kill  them  •  but  such  was  their  hurry, 
the  wounds  they  gave  them  were  not  mortal,  and  they  all 
recovered.  Captain  G-reenleaf  was  shot  in  the  arm  during  the 
attack. 

In  August,  1696,  the  French,  under  Iberville  and  Bonaven- 
ture,  with  about  two  hundred  Indians,  under  the  Baron  St.  Cas- 
tine,  proceeded  against  the  strong  fortress  at  Pemaquid.  The 
place  was  invested  on  the  14th.  To  the  summons  to  surrender, 
Chubb,  the  commander  replied,  that  if  the  sea  were  covered  with 
French  vessels  and  the  land  with  Indians,  yet  he  would  not  give 
up  the  fort.  After  the  exchange  of  a  few  shots,  batteries  were 
raised,  and  a  bombardment  commenced.  Castine  found  means 
to  convey  a  letter  into  the  fort,  giving  warning,  that  if  the  gar 
rison  waited  till  an  assault  was  ordered,  they  would  then  be  at 
the  mercy  of  the  Indians,  and  could  expect  no  quarter.  Upon 
this,  the  garrison,  consisting  of  eighty  men,  requested  their  noble 
commander  to  capitulate,  which  he  did  upon  highly  honorable 
terms.  Thus,  this  fortress,  which  had  cost  the  colonists  such  an 
immense  amount  of  money,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and 
was  demolished. 

In  June,  1697,  the  Indians  made  an  attempt  to  surprise  Exe 
ter,  New  Hampshire,  but  failed.  Soon  after,  Major  Frost,  an 
active  and  successful  commander,  was  waylaid  and  killed  by  the 
enemy.  Operations  were  continued  on  a  small  scale  by  the 
French  until  the  peace  of  Ryswick  was  received  in  America. 
This  was  in  December,  1697;  and  never  was  a  peace  more  joy 
fully  welcomed.  By  the  treaty,  all  countries,  forts,  and  colonies 
taken  during  the  war,  were  to  be  restored  to  the  party  owning 
them  before  it  began.  Count  de  Frontignac  informed  the  In 
dians  that  he  could  no  longer  be  their  ally  in  the  war  against  the 
English,  and  advised  them  to  make  peace.  Accordingly,  on  the 
7th  of  January,  1699,  they  concluded  a  treaty,  in  which  they 
acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  English  crown,  and  promised 
to  maintain  peace. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   WARS  OF  THE  FIVE  NATIONS. 

ALTHOUGH  the  confederacy  known  as  the  Five  Nations  were 
the  allies  of  the  English  in  the  war  against  the  French,  and 
joined  them  in  many  of  their  principal  expeditions,  their  history 
deserves  a  separate  notice,  as  they  afford  us  a  complete  example  of 
what  the  Indians  of  North  America  were  capahle  of.  Their  great 
reputation  as  warriors,  and  their  wisdom  in  council,  have  been 
so  often  alluded  to  by  those  interested  in  the  history  of  the  In 
dians,  that  we  shall  be  pardoned  for  giving  a  somewhat  extended 
description  of  their  confederacy,  and  an  account  of  their  wars. 

The  Five  Nations,  by  their  geographical  position,  formed  a 
sort  of  barrier  between  the  French  possessions  in  the  northwest, 
and  the  middle  colonies  of  the  English.  The  confederacy  is  said 
to  have  originated  in  remote  antiquity;  and,  as  the  name  im 
plies,  comprehended  five  Indian  tribes,  of  which,  the  Mohawks 
were  the  most  powerful,  and  the  most  celebrated.  These  tribes 
were  united  on  terms  of  the  strictest  equality,  in  a  perpetual 
league,  offensive  and  defensive.  The  principles  of  their  alliance 
and  government  display  much  more  refinement  than  might  have 
been  expected  of  "  savages."  Each  nation  had  its  own  separate 
republican  constitution,  in  which  rank  and  authority  were  only 
attainable  by  the  union  of  age  and  merit,  and  enjoyed  during  the 
public  will.  Each  nation  was  divided  into  three  tribes,  distin- 

(75) 


76 


INDIAN  WARS 


guished  by  the  names,  the  Tortoise,  the  Bear,  and  the  Wolf. 
The  confederacy  had  adopted  the  Roman  policy  of  increasing 
their  strength  by  absorbing  the  conquered  tribes;  and  the  effect 
was  the  same  in  both  cases,  though,  in  the  latter,  it  was  on  a 
smaller  scale.  In  no  community,  was  age  ever  more  respected, 
or  worth  more  admired  and  emulated.  Their  habits  and  training 
were  calculated  to  make  them  cruel  and  revengeful,  but  bold; 
active,  cunning,  strong,  and  graceful. 

The  Mohawks  prided  themselves  upon  their  fortitude,  and 
their  persevering  bravery.  Stratagem  was  always  preferred  to 
open  war,  as  among  the  generality  of  Indians;  but  the  tribes  of 
this  confederacy  did  not  fear  an  open  field.  Almost  all  the  In 
dians  who  were  not  included  in  the  confederacy,  within  a  great 
extent  of  country,  paid  tribute  to  it,  and  could  not  wage  war  or 
make  peace  without  its  permission.  All  matters  of  common 
interest  were  discussed  and  transacted  in  general  meetings  of 
the  braves  of  each  nation;  and  so  completely  had  time  and  suc 
cess  given  the  federal  character  to  these  republicans  of  the  woods, 
that  all  individual  interests  were  sacrificed  to  the  good  of  the 
whole.  In  the  year  1677,  the  Five  Nations  could  bring  into  the 
field,  two  thousand  five  hundred  fighting  men.  The  accession  of 
the  Tuscaroras,  at  a  later  period,  considerably  increased  their 
power.  Surely,  there  is  as  much  to  admire  in  the  character  and 
institutions  of  these  Indians,  as  there  was  in  those  of  the  Spartans 
of  antiquity. 

.  When  the  Five  Nations  first  became  known  to  the  French  set 
tlers  in  the  northwest,  they  were  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  supre 
macy  with  the  •  powerful  Andirondacks.  The  latter  drove  the 
confederates  from  their  possessions  round  Montreal,  and  forced 
them  to  seek  an  asylum  on  the  southeast  coast  of  Lake  Ontario. 
Rallying  their  strength,  the  confederates  defeated  their  enemies 
in  turn,  and  compelled  them  to  fly  beyond  the  strait  where  Que 
bec  was  afterwards  built.  The  arrival  of  the  French,  however, 
threw  the  advantage  upon  the  side  of  the  Andirondacks,  who,  by 
aid  of  the  whites,  with  their  fearful  fire  arms,  defeated  the  Five 
Nations  in  many  battles,  despite  their  valor  and  skill.  In  this 
state  of  affairs,  the  Dutch  arrived  in  the  Hudson  river;  and  from 
these  adventurers,  the  defeated,  but  not  dispirited  confederates, 
obtained  a  supply  of  the  new  instruments  of  warfare.  The  strug 
gle  was  furiously  renewed,  and  the  Andirondacks  were  annihi 
lated. 

The  feelings  of  hate  and  dread,  awakened  between  the  French 
and  the  Five  Nations  by  this  war,  continued  to  exist  as  long  as 
the  former  held  possession  of  Canada.  The  Indians  never  forgive 
such  injuries.  In  the  wars  which  succeeded,  the  advantages  of 
a  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  of  being  accustomed  to  rapid 


OF  THE  FIVE  NATIONS. 


77 


and  secret  movements,  gave  the  confederates  a  superiority  which 
the  *rench  could  not  controvert.  In  the  winter  of  1665  a  party 
sent  out  by  the  governor  of  Canada  to  attack  the  Five  Nations, 
lost  their  way  in  the  snow,  and  after  enduring  the  extremity  of 
misery,  arrived  at  the  village  of  Schenectady,  recently  founded 
by  a  Dutchman,  named  Corlear.  The  French  would  have  fallen 
an  easy  prey  to  the  Indians,  but  for  the  generosity  of  this  noble- 
hearted  man.  Moved  by  their  wretched  appearance,  Corlear 
employed  persuasion  and  artifice  to  induce  the  Indians  to  spare 
their  enemies;  and  he  succeeded.  The  French  were  supplied 
with  provisions  and  other  necessaries,  and  sent  home  to  Canada 
Urlear  received  the  thanks  of  the  French  governor  for  his 
humanity.  After  a  lengthened  series  of  hostilities,  destructive 

°  ri  i  «oortles'  a  peace  was  concluded  in  1667.     This  continued 
until  ioy^i. 

The  love  of  traffic  made  the  Dutch  keep  upon  good  terms  with 
the  Indians  For  this  purpose,  they  could  afford  to  bear  any 
invasions  of  honor.  When  the  British  governors  succeeded  the 
Dutch  they  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  Five  Nations,  who 
adhered  to  their  allies  upon  all  subsequent  occasions,  butrrequired 


78  INDIAN  WARS 

all  the  observances  of  respect  due  to  an  independent  people.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  French  availed  themselves  of  the  peace,  to 
extend  their  settlements  along  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  and  in  1672, 
they  built  Fort  Frontignac  on  the  northwest  bank,  near  where  it 
flows  from  Lake  Ontario.  They  filled  the  Indian  settlements 
with  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  made  many  converts,  and  served 
to  attach  many  of  the  tribes  to  the  French  interest.  Their 
courage,  skill,  and  activity  formed  a  striking  contrast  to  the  in 
dolent  security  of  the  English,  who  were  content  to  trust  to  the 
faith  of  the  Indians  in  holding  to  their  treaties. 

Inflamed  by  the  love  of  conquest,  the  vice  of  the  mighty,  the 
Five  Nations  turned  their  arms  southward,  and  subdued  and  ex 
terminated  the  Indians  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Carolinas. 
Many  of  the  allies  of  the  colonists  of  Maryland  and  Virginia 
were  attacked,  and  the  English  were  frequently  obliged  to  inter 
fere  in  their  behalf.  There  was  danger  of  a  general  rupture  with 
the  English;  but  in  1684,  Colonel  Dongan,  governor  of  New 
York,  and  Lord  Effingham,  governor  of  Virginia,  concluded  a 
definitive  treaty  with  the  Five  Nations.  All  the  English  settle 
ments  were  included  in  this  treaty.  A  number  of  hatchets  were 
buried,  and  the  arms  of  the  Duke  of  York,  the  head  of  the  Eng 
lish  and  Indian  confederacy,  were  suspended  along  the  frontiers 
of  the  territories  of  the  Five  Nations. 

The  rivalry  between  the  French  and  English  in  the  trade  with 
the  Indians  upon  the  great  lakes,  led  to  the  hostilities  which  next 
occurred.  The  chiefs  of  the  Indian  confederacy  saw  through 
the  plans  of  the  French  governors,  and  became  apprehensive  of 
their  own  safety.  Considering  the  conduct  of  the  French  in 
giviog  arms  to  their  enemies,  as  an  indication  of  hostility,  they 
constantly  attacked  the  Canadian  traders  during  their  expedi 
tions.  The  French  used  every  means  to  prevent  this  annoyance 
and  obstruction  to  their  designs.;  but  force  nor  intrigue  could 
not  calm  the  hostility  of  the  Indians.  The  weakness  of  James 
II.  of  England,  who  prevented  Colonel  Dongan  from  assisting 
his  faithful  allies,  left  the  contest  to  be  continued  by  the  Five 
Nations  alone ;  but  Dongan  seized  every  occasion  to  advise  them 
how  to  conduct  their  enterprise,  and  to  treat  their  prisoners. 

The  two  parties  carried  on  their  operations  with  a  mutual  fury 
and  cruelty  that  left  no  distinction  between  the  Frenchman  and 
the  savage.  The  confederacy  was  completely  successful,  and  for 
some  time,  it  was  thought  the  whites  would  be  entirely  subdued 
by  their  inveterate  foes.  On  the  25th  of  August,  1689,  twelve 
hundred  warriors  of  the  Five  Nations  landed  upon  the  island  of 
Montreal,  while  the  French  were  in  a  state  of  perfect  security, 
burned  their  houses,  sacked  their  plantations,  and  slew  nearly  a 
thousand  persons.  A  number  of  prisoners  were  taken  and  burnt 


OP  THE  FIVE  NATIONS. 


81 


PLAC2  D'ARMES,  MONTRIAL, 


alive.  The  Indians  returned,  having  lost  but  three  men.  In  the 
following  October,  they  attacked  the  island  again,  with  nearly 
equal  success.  These  dreadful  disasters  threw  the  whole  of  the 
French  settlements  into  consternation.  The  fort  at  Lake  Ontario 
was  abandoned  by  its  garrison,  and  as  soon  possessed  by  their 
foes.  Here,  among  other  things  of  value,  twenty-eight  barrels 
of  gunpowder  fell  into  their  hands.  The  French  were  saved 
from  extermination,  only  by  the  ignorance  of  the  Indians  of  the 
art  of  attacking  fortified  places.  Here,  the  English  could  have 
aided  them ;  but  the  short-sighted  policy  of  King  James  pre 
vented  it. 

In  the  early  part  of  King  William's  War,  the  Five  Nations 
could  not  be  induced  to  aid  the  English.  But  in  1691,  Governor 
Slaughter  held  a  conference  with  them,  and  his  propositions  for 
a  new  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  were  accepted;  and  to 
use  their  own  poetical  expression,  they  "brightened  the  ancient 
belt  of  friendship"  and  commenced  hostilities  against  their  old 
enemies. 

In  the  summer  of  1691,  Major  Schuyler,  an  influential  man 
among  the  Indians,  with  a  body  of  Mohawks,  fell  upon  the 
French  settlements  in  the  north  end  of  Lake  Champlain.  Mr. 
Drake  thus  relates  what  ensued : 

"De  Callieres,  governor  of  Montreal,  hastily  collected  about 
6 


82  INDIAN  WARS 

eight  hundred  men,  and  opposed  them ;  but,  notwithstanding  his 
force  was  vastly  superior,  yet  they  were  repulsed  with  great  loss. 
About  three  hundred  of  the  enemy  were  killed  in  this  expedi 
tion.  The  French  now  took  every  measure  in  their  power  to  re 
taliate.  They  sent  presents  to  many  tribes  of  Indians,  to  engage 
them  in  their  cause,  and  in  the  following  winter,  a  party  of  about 
three  hundred  men,  under  an  accomplished  young  gentleman, 
marched  to  attack  the  confederate  Indian  nations  at  Niagara. 
Their  march  was  long,  and  rendered  almost  insupportable ;  being 
obliged  to  carry  their  provisions  on  their  backs  through  deep 
snow.  Black-kettle,  a  famous  chief,  met  them  with  about  eighty 
men,  and  maintained  an  unequal  fight,  until  his  men  were  nearly 
all  cut  off;  but  it  was  more  fatal  to  the  French,  who,  far  from 
home,  had  no  means  of  recruiting.  Black-kettle,  in  his  turn, 
carried  the  war  into  Canada  during  the  whole  summer  following, 
with  immense  loss  and  damage  to  the  French  inhabitants.  The 
governor  was  so  enraged  at  his  successes,  that  he  caused  a  pri 
soner,  which  had  been  taken  from  the  Five  Nations,  to  be  burnt 
alive.  This  captive  withstood  the  tortures  with  as  much  firmness 
as  his  enemies  showed  cruelty.  He  sung  his  achievements  while 
they  broiled  his  feet,  burnt  his  hands  with  red  hot  irons,  cut  and 
wrung  off  his  joints,  and  pulled  out  the  sinews.  To  close  the 
horrid  scene,  his  scalp  was  torn  off,  and  red  hot  sand  poured 
upon  his  head. 

"But  this  was  a  day  in  which  that  people  were  able  to  con 
tend  successfully  against  even  European  enemies.  They  had,  in 
1691,  laid  a  plan  to  prevent  the  French  from  extending  their 
settlements  westward,  for  surprising  those  already  formed,  and 
for  intercepting  the  western  Indians  as  they  brought  down  their 
peltries  to  them. 

"  Two  armies,  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  men  each,  were  to 
march  out  on  this  business  about  November;  the  first,  were  to 
attack  the  fort  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Louis,  and  the  other,  to  proceed 
by  way  of  Lake  Champlain  against  the  settlements.  Before  they 
set  out,  two  Indian  women,  who  had  been  captives  among  them, 
made  their  escape,  and  gave  notice  of  their  object.  This,  in  a 
great  measure,  defeated  the  enterprise.  Governor  De  Callieres 
raised  troops,  and  strengthened  every  place  he  was  able.  The 
first  party  was  discovered  as  they  approached  St.  Louis,  who, 
after  skirmishing  some  time  with  the  parties  detached  against 
them,  retired  without  gaining  any  material  advantage.  The 
second  did  little  more,  and  retired,  after  destroying  some  houses, 
and  carrying  with  them  some  prisoners. 

"About  the  end  of  November,  thirty-four  Mohawks  surprised 
some  of  the  French  Indians  of  St.  Louis,  who  were  carelessly 
hunting  about  Mount  Chambly,  killing  four  and  capturing  eight 


OF   THE   FIVE   NATIONS.  83 

others.  Some  escaped,  and  informed  their  friends  of  what  had 
happened,  and  a  company  immediately  went  in  pursuit.  They 
overtook  them  near  Lake  Champlain,  and  a  hard  fight  followed. 
The  Catholic  Indians  rushed  upon  them  with  gr  at  fury,  toma 
hawk  in  hand,  and  although  the  Mohawks  had  tak  n  post  behind 
rocks,  they  were  routed,  six  being  killed,  and  five  taken.  They 
also  liberated  all  their  friends  taken  at  Mount  Chambly. 

"In  the  beginning  of  February,  1692,  De  Calliere  ordered  M. 
D'Orvilliers  to  march,  with  three  hundred  men,  int  the  penin 
sula,  which  terminates  at  the  confluence  of  the  Otto  vay  and  the 
St.  Lawrence  rivers,  to  surprise  a  company  of  Iroquois  he  had 
been  informed  was  there.  It  was  their  hunting  ground  during 
the  winter,  and  the  pretext  for  attacking  them  was,  that  they 
were  now  there  to  surprise  the  settlements,  and  intercept  such  as 
passed  up  and  down  said  rivers.  While  on  his  march  D'Orvil 
liers  met  with  an  accident,  which  obliged  him  to  retu.  to  Mon 
treal,  and  the  command  devolved  upon  Captain  De  Beaucourt. 
This  officer  marched  to  Isle  Tonihata,  not  far  from  Catarocouy, 
or  Katarokkui,  where  he  surprised  fifty  Senecas  in  thei  cabins, 
killed  twenty-four,  and  took  six  of  them  prisoners. 

"Enough  had  passed  before  this  to  arouse  the  spirit  jf  ven 
geance  in  the  great  chief  of  Onondaga,  Black-kettle;  ut  this 
last  act  could  not  be  passed  without,  at  least,  an  attemp  at  re 
taliation.  About  one  hundred  Senecas  were  near  the  Sault  de 
la  Chaudiere,  on  Ottoway  river,  at  this  time,  and  Black  kettle 
soon  after  joined  them  with  a  band  of  his  Onondagos;  and  they 
immediately  put  themselves  into  an  attitude  for  intercepting  their 
enemies. 

"  Governor  De  Callieres  had  supposed  that  by  the  affair  at  To 
nihata,  the  Iroquois  were  sufficiently  humbled  for  the  present, 
and  that  they  were  not  to  be  regarded  as  capable  of  any  con- 
siderable  undertaking;  but  he  soon  discovered  the  error  of    :s  * 
judgment;  for  sixty  friendly  Indians,  having  arrived  at  M 
treal  to  trade,  reported  that  the  way  was  clear,  but  requeste^ 
guard  when  they  returned.     This  was  granted  them.     S.  Mich 
volunteered  upon  this  service,  and  put  under  the  command  o 
Lieutenant  De  la  Gremeraye,  thirty  men.     He  had  for  his  tw 
ensigns,  M.  Le  Fresniere,  oldest  son  of  the  Sieur  Hertel,  and  hi 
brother.     Having  arrived  at  a  place  called  the  Long  Falls,  on 
Ottoway  river,  some  marched  upon  the  side  of  the  river,  while 
others  endeavored  to  effect  the  passage  of  the  falls  in  the  boats. 
They  had  no  sooner  entered  upon  this  business,  than  the  war 
riors  of  Black-'kettle,  from  an  ambush,  fired  upon  them,  put  the 
sixty  Indians  to  flight,  killing  and  wounding  many  of  the  French. 
They  then  rushed  upon  them  with  such  fury,  that  little  time  was 
allowed  for  resistance,  and  they  fled  to  their  boats  for  safety 


84  INDIAN  WARS 

but  in  their  hurry  they  overturned  them,  and  many  were  made 
prisoners.  Among  these  were  S.  Michel  and  the  two  Hertels. 
La  Gemeraye  and  a  few  soldiers  only  escaped.  Black-kettle's 
force  on  this  occasion  was  computed  at  one  hundred  and  forty 
men." 

The  contest  between  these  constant  foes,  was  maintained  with 
varied  success  until  after  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  in  the  latter  part 
of  1697.  The  French  had  one  of  the  most  active  and  skilful  of 
governors  in  the  old  Count  de  Frontignac,  and  his  measures 
taught  the  Indians  to  know  him  as  their  most  formidable  foe. 
The  peace  of  Ryswick  enabled  him  to  concentrate  his  whole  force 
against  the  Five  Nations.  The  Earl  of  Bellamont,  then  governor 
of  New  York,  perceived  the  danger  to  the  English  colonies, 
should  the  allies  be  vanquished ;  and  fre  not  only  furnished  them 
with  arms  and  ammunition,  but  notified  the  Count  de  Frontignac 
that  if  the  French  attacked  them,  he  would  come  with  his 
whole  force  to  their  aid.  This  resolution  saved  the  Five  Nations 
from  an  attack — and,  perhaps,  a  complete  overthrow.  Soon  after 
this,  a  peace  was  concluded  between  the  two  parties.  But  the 
Indians  always  retained  their  friendship  for  the  English  and 
their  hatred  of  the  French.  The  Jesuit  missionaries  obtained 
considerable  influence  among  them,  and  the  French  trading 
agents  so  far  secured  them  to  their  interest,  that  in  the  next  war 
between  the  rival  powers,  four  of  the  tribes  took  part  against  the 
British  colonists.  This  was  of  but  short  duration,  however,  and 
before  the  total  defeat  of  the  French,  the  Five  Nations  had  re 
turned  to  their  first  friends.  Before  this  period,  the  confederacy 
had  been  increased  by  the  addition  of  the  Tuscaroras,  of  the 
south.  This  tribe,  however,  was  not  equal  to  the  others  in 
strength  and  courage,  and  its  members  were  always  looked  upon 
as  inferior. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

INDIAN  WARS   OP   CAROLINA,   PREVIOUS   TO   THE  REVOLUTION. 

WHEN  the  English  settled  in  South  Carolina,  it  was  found 
that  the  State  was  inhabited  by  about  twenty  different  tribes  of 
Indians.  The  whites  made  gradual  encroachments  without  meet 
ing  with  any  opposition  from  the  Indians,  until  the  latter  saw 
that  if  these  advances  were  continued,  they  would  be  completely 
driven  from  their  country.  A  struggle  was  immediately  begun, 
in  which  the  colonists  suffered  so  much  from  the  number  and  fury 
of  their  enemies,  that  a  price  was  fixed  upon  every  Indian  who 
should  be  brought  captive  to  Charleston,  from  whence  they  were 
sold  into  slavery  for  the  West  Indies. 

The  hostility  of  the  southern  Indians  was  instigated  by  the 
Spaniards,  who  supplied  them  with  arms  and  ammunition.  In 
the  year  1702,  Governor  Moore  marched  into  the  country  of  the 
Apalachian  Indians,  took  a  great  number  of  prisoners,  and  com 
pelled  the  remainder  to  submit  to  the  supremacy  of  the  English 
government.  A  more  important  contest  occurred  in  1712.  The 
Tuscaroras,  and  other  powerful  tribes,  whose  country  extended 
from  Cape  Fear  river  to  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  united  in  a 
league,  the  object  of  which  was,  to  wage  a  war  of  extermination 
against  the  whites. 

Every  part  of  the  design  was  laid  with  secrecy  and  ingenuity. 
They  fortified  their  principal  village,  in  order  to  shelter  their 
women  and  children,  and  there  the  warriors  met  and  matured 
their  scheme.  When  the  favorable  moment  arrived,  they  scat- 

(85) 


86  INDIAN  WARS 

tered  in  small  bands,  and  entering  the  houses  of  the  planters, 
demanded  something  to  eat.  They  then  murmured  at  the  pro 
visions  set  before  them,  and  pretending  to  be  angry,  they  imme 
diately  began  to  murder  men,  women,  and  children  without  dis 
crimination.  One  hundred  and  thirty  settlers  were  slaughtered 
in  the  neighborhood  pf  Roanoke,  and  but  few  escaped  to  give 
the  timely  warning  to  the  remainder  of  the  colonists. 

The  government  immediately  commenced  active  operations 
against  their  merciless  foes.  The  Assembly  voted  four  thousand 
pounds  towards  the  war.  A  body  of  six  hundred  men  was  col 
lected,  and,  under  command  of  Colonel  Barnwell,  marched  against 
the  enemy.  Several  friendly  tribes  sent  their  warriors  to  aid 
the  English,  which  swelled  the  number  of  Colonel  Barn  well's 
force  to  one  thousand  men.  After  marching  through  a  wilder 
ness/  and  suffering  all  the  hardships  incident  to  such  marches, 
he  came  up  with  the  enemy,  and  a  furious  battle  ensued.  About 
three  hundred  Indians  were  killed,  and  one  hundred  wounded. 
The  remainder  of  their  force  retreated  to  the  fortified  town.  The 
forces  of  Barnwell  surrounded  this  place,  and  so  resolutely  pro 
secuted  the  attack,  that  a  great  number  were  killed,  and  the  re 
mainder  compelled  to  sue  for  peace.  Besides  a  large  number  of 
the  other  tribes  in  the  league,  it  ig  computed  that  one  thousand 
Tuscaroras  were  killed  in  this  expedition.  The  survivors  left 
their  country,  and  going  northward,  joined  the  Five  Nations. 

Three  years  after  this  war,  another  plot  for  the  extermination 
of  the  English  was  formed  by  the  powerful  Yemassees,  of  South 
Carolina.  This  tribe  occupied  considerable  territory  on  the 
northeast  side  of  the  Savannah  river.  Many  others  were  joined 
with  them  in  the  plot. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  the  Indians  fell  on 
the  defenceless  settlers,  unapprehensive  of  danger,  and,  in  a  few 
hours,  massacred  above  ninety  persons,  in  Pocotaligo.  One  man 
escaped  to  Port  Royal,  and  alarmed  the  town.  The  inhabitants 
of  it  generally  fled  to  Charleston.  While  the  Yamassees  were 
laying  waste  the  southern  frontiers  of  Carolina,  other  tribes,  from 
the  northward,  were  perpetrating  similar  devastations,  in  that 
quarter.  The  southern  division  of  the  enemy  consisted,  by  com 
putation,  of  six  thousand  bowmen;  and  the  northern,  between 
six  hundred  and  a  thousand.  The  planters,  thus  taken  by  sur 
prise,  were  so  dispersed,  that  they  could  not  assemble  together, 
nor  act  in.  concert.  They  generally  fled  to  Charleston.  The 
intelligence  they  brought,  magnified  the  danger,  so  as  to  induce 
doubts  of  the  safety  even  of  the  capital;  for,  at  that  time,  it  con 
tained  on  the  muster  roll,  no  more  than  twelve  hundred  men  fit 
to  bear  arms.  A  party  of  four  hundred  Indians  came  to  Goose 
creek,  about  twenty  miles  from  Charleston.  Every  family  there 


KASSACBB  AT  ROANOKB  BT  TUB  TTJ8CABOSAS. 


OP  CAROLINA.  89 

had  fled  to  town,  with  the  exception  of  seventy  white  men  and 
forty  negroes,  who,  having  surrounded  themselves  with  a  slight 
breastwork,  resolved  on  defence.  After  they  had  resisted  for 
Borne  time,  they  incautiously  agreed  to  terms  of  peace.  The 
faithless  savages,  being  admitted  within  their  works,  butchered 
the  garrison. 

The  invaders  spread  destruction  through  the  parish  of  St.  Bar 
tholomew,  and,  advancing  as  far  as  Stono,  burned  the  church, 
and  every  house  on  the  plantations  by  the  way.  Similar  ravages 
were  committed  in  several  other  places.  In  this  time  of  general 
calamity,  Governor  Craven,  of  South  Carolina,  acted  with  spirit. 
He  proclaimed  martial  law,  laid  an  embargo  on  all  vessels  in  the 
harbor,  and  marched  out  of  town,  at  the  head  of  the  militia,  to 
attack  the  Yamassee  invaders.  He  guarded  himself  against  their 
mode  of  fighting  from  thickets,  and  behind  trees;  and  took  every 
precaution  to  prevent  a  surprise.  He  knew,  full  well,  that  his 
followers  must  either  conquer  or  die,  most  probably  by  torture. 
The  fate  of  the  province  depended  on  the  success  of  his  arms. 
The  event  of  the  expedition  would  decide,  whether  Carolina 
should  remain  a  British  province,  or  be  annexed  to  Florida,  in 
the  occupation  of  the  aborigines.  There  was  no  back  country, 
then  settled  with  friendly  white  inhabitants,  to  whom  the  settlers 
below  might  fly  for  refuge,  or  from  whom  they  might  look  for 
relief.  Virginia  was  the  nearest  place,  from  which  effectual  aid 
could  be  expected. 

•As  Governor  Craven  marched  through  the  country,  straggling 
parties  of  the  Indians  fled  before  him,  till  he  reached  Saltcatch- 
ers,  where  they  had  pitched  their  great  camp.  Here  a  sharp 
and  bloody  contest  took  place.  The  Indians  fought  from  behind 
trees  and  bushes,  alternately  retreating  and  returning  to  the 
charge.  The  militia,  with  the  governor  at  their  head,  kept  close 
to  the  enemy,  improved  every  advantage,  and  drove  them  from 
their  lurking  places.  The  pursuit  was  continued  till  the  invaders 
were  expelled  from  Carolina,  and  forced  to  retreat  over  Savannah 
river.  The  number  of  the  militia  lost  in  this  expedition,  or  of 
the  Indians  killed  therein,  is  not  known;  but,  in  the  course  of 
the  war,  four  hundred  of  the  inhabitants  of  Carolina  were  mur 
dered,  by  the  invading  savages. 

The  Yamassees,  after  their  defeat  and  expulsion  from  Caro 
lina,  went  directly  to  the  Spanish  garrison,  St.  Augustine,  where 
they  were  received  with  so  much  hospitality  and  kindness,  and 
had  such  ample  encouragement  given  them  to  settle  in  Florida, 
as  confirmed  the  suspicions  previously  entertained,  that  their  late 
conspiracy  was  contrived  by  Spaniards,  and  carried  on  by  their 
encouragement. 

Thifl  victory  raised  the  inhabitants  of  South  Carolina  from  tha 


90  INDIAN  WARS 

depths  of  despair  to  the  highest  pitch  of  joy.  The  expedition 
had  disconcerted  the  greatest  conspiracy  ever  formed  against  the 
colony,  and  given  it  a  security  which  the  inhabitants  could  not 
before  feel  in  the  presence  of  such  a  formidable  foe  as  the  Ye- 
massees. 

When,  during  the  war  which  led  to  the  conquest  of  Canada, 
the  French  had  been  compelled  to  abandon  Fort  Duquesne,  they 
retreated  down  the  Ohio  river,  and  in  revenge,  endeavored  to 
excite  the  Cherokees  to  war  against  the  colonists  of  Carolina.  In 
this  they  were  aided  by  the  occurrence  of  a  quarrel  between  the 
Indians  and  the  colonists.  It  had  always  been  the  custom  for 
both  parties  to  seize  the  horses  that  run  wild  in  the  woods.  A 
party  of  Cherokees,  returning  from  Fort  Duquesne,  where  they 
had  been  in  the  service  of  the  English,  seized  some  stray  horses, 
and  made  use  of  them  to  hasten  home.  But,  it  seems,  that  the 
horses  belonged  to  the  whites,  who,  instead  of  seeking  redress 
legally,  pursued  the  Cherokees  and  killed  a  considerable  number 
of  them.  This,  very  naturally,  enraged  the  Indians,  and  they 
immediately  attacked  several  of  the  frontier  settlements  of 
Carolina. 

The  Cherokees  could,  at  this  time,  bring  about  three  thousand 
men  into  the  field.  Upon  receiving  information  of  these  hostile 
acts,  Governor  Lyttleton  made  great  preparation  to  invade  the 
Cherokee  country.  Fearing  his  power,  the  Indians  sent  thirty- 
two  chiefs  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  whites.  But  the  governor, 
detaining  the  chiefs  as  captives,  marched  for  Port  Prince  George, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Savannah.  Upon  reaching  the  Congaree,  he 
received  a  reinforcement,  which  increased  his  army  to  fourteen 
hundred  men. 

When  Governor  Lyttleton  arrived  at  Fort  Prince  George,  he 
found  his  troops  mutinous,  and  himself  in  very  bad  repute  among 
them.  He  then  saw  the  necessity  of  a  peace,  and  invited  Atta- 
kullakulla,  the  wisest  of  the  Cherokee  chiefs,  to  a  conference.  A 
treaty  was  concluded,  which  the  Indians  never  meant  to  observe, 
since  Lyttleton  had  violated  all  laws  of  nations,  by  making  their 
ambassadors  prisoners.  By  the  treaty,  Ockonostota,  a  great  war 
chief,  and  Fiftoe,  were  set  at  liberty,  while  the  other  chiefs  were 
retained  at  the  fort  on  the  Savannah.  The  affair  being  thus  ar 
ranged,  Lyttleton  returned  to  Charleston,  where  he  was  received 
as  a  conqueror,  although  he  had  done  nothing  to  merit  the  title. 
The  remaining  incidents  of  this  war,  are  thus  related  by  Mr. 
Drake. 

"  Ockonostota,  for  good  reason,  no  doubt,  entertained  a  deep- 
rooted  hatred  against  Captain  Cotymore,  an  officer  of  the  garri 
son,  and  the  army  had  but  just  left  the  country,  when  it  was 
found  that  he  was  hovering  about  the  garrison  with  a  large  num- 


OCKOK08TOTA, 


OF  CAROLINA.  93 

fcer  of  warriors.  But  it  was  uncertain,  for  some  time,  whether 
they  intended  to  attack  the  fort,  or  whether  they  wished  to  con 
tinue  near  tbeir  friends,  who  were  imprisoned  in  it.  However, 
it  is  said,  that,  by  some  means,  a  plan  was  concerted  between 
the  Indians  without  and  those  confined  within  the  fort,  for  sur 
prising  it.  Be  this  as  it  may,  Ockonostota,  on  the  16th  of  Feb 
ruary,  1760,  practised  the  following  wile  to  effect  the  object. 
Haying  placed  a  party  of  his  warriors  in  a  dark  cane  brake  near 
at  hand,  he  sent  a  squaw  to  the  garrison  to  invite  the  commander 
to  come  out,  for  he  had  something  of  importance  to  communicate 
to  him.  Captain  Cotymore  imprudently  went  out,  accompanied 
by  two^of  his  officers,  and  Ockonostota  appeared  upon  the  oppo 
site  bank  of  the  Savannah,  with  a  bridle  in  his  hand,  the  better 
to  conceal  his  intentions.  He  told  the  captain  he  was  going  to 
Charleston  to  effect  the  release  of  the  hostages,  and  requested 
that  a  white  man  might  accompany  him;  and  that,  as  the  dis 
tance  was  great,  he  would  go  and  try  to  catch  a  horse.  The 
captain  promised  him  a  guard,  and  hoped  he  would  succeed  in 
finding  a  horse.  Ockonostota  then  quickly  turned  himself  about, 
and  swinging  his  bridle  thrice  over  his  head,  which  was  the  sig 
nal  to  his  men,  and  they  promptly  obeying  it,  about  thirty  guns 
were  discharged  upon  the  officers  at  the  same  moment.  Captain 
Cotymore  received  a  shot  in  his  left  breast,  from  which  he  died 
in  two  or  three  days  after,  and  both  the  others  were  wounded. 
On  recovering  the  fort,  an  attempt  was  made  to  put  the  hostages 
in  irons.  An  Englishman,  who  laid  hold  on  one  of  them  for  that 
purpose,  was  stabbed  and  slain;  and,  in  the  scuffle,  two  or  three 
more  were  wounded,  and  driven  out  of  the  place  of  confinement. 
The  tragedy  in  the  fort  had  now  only  commenced;  the  miserable 
prisoners  had  repelled  their  assassins  for  the  moment,  and,  doubt 
less,  hoped  for  deliverance  from  their  friends  without,  who  had 
now  closely  besieged  the  place.  But,  unfortunately  for  these 
poor  wretches,  the  fort  was  too  strong  to  be  carried  by  their  arts 
of  war,  and  the  dastardly  whites  found  time  and  means  to  mur 
der  their  victims,  one  by  one,  in  a  manner  too  horrible  to  relate. 
There  were  few  persons  among  the  Cherokees  who  did  not  lose  a 
friend  or  relation  by  this  massacre;  and,  as  one  man,  the  nation 
took  up  the  hatchet,  and  desolations  quickly  followed. 

"Meanwhile,  singular  as  it  may  appear,  Attakullakulla  re 
mained  the  fast  friend  of  the  whites,  and  used  all  his  arts  to 
induce  his  countrymen  to  make  peace.  But  it  was  in  vain  he 
urged  them  to  consider  that  they  had  more  than  revenged  them 
selves;  they  were  determined  to  carry  all  before  them.  Atta 
kullakulla  was  now  an  old  man,  and  had  become  much  attached 
to  the  English,  from  several  causes.  On  the  other  hand,  Ocko 
nostota  was  a  stern  warrior,  in  the  vigor  of  manhood,  and,  like 


94  INDIAN  WARS 

the  renowned  Pontiac,  was  determined  to  rid  his  country  of  his 
barbarous  enemies. 

The  leaders  in  every  town  seized  the  hatchet,  telling  their 
followers  that  the  spirits  of  murdered  brothers  were  flying 
around  them,  and  calling  out  for  vengeance.  All  sung  the  war 
song,  and,  burning  with  impatience  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  tho 
blood  of  their  enemies,  rushed  down  among  innocent  and  defence 
less  families  on  the  frontiers  of  Carolina,  where  men,  women,  and 
children,  without  distinction,  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  merciless 
fury.  Such  of  the  whites  as  fled  to  the  woods,  and  escaped  tin 
scalping  knife,  perished  with  hunger.  Every  day  brought  fresh 
accounts  to  the  capital  of  their  ravages  and  desolations.  But, 
while  the  back  settlers  impatiently  looked  to  their  governor  for 
relief,  the  small  pox  raged  to  such  a  degree  in  town,  that  few  of 
the  militia  could  be  prevailed  on  to  leave  their  distressed  families 
to  serve  the  public.  In  this  extremity,  an  express  was  sent  to 
General  Amherst,  the  commander-in-chief  in  America,  for  as 
sistance,  in  terms  too  pressing  to  be  denied.  Accordingly,  he 
ordered  a  battalion  of  Highlanders,  and  four  companies  of  Royal 
Scots,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Montgomery,  afterwards 
Earl  Eglinton,  to  embark  at  New  York  for  Carolina.  In  the 
mean  time,  Littleton,  having  been  appointed  governor  of  Jamaica, 
William  Bull  succeeded  him;  a  change  much  to  the  advantage 
of  the  province. 

"  Colonel  Montgomery  arrived  in  Carolina  towards  the  end  of 
April,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  people,  who  had  taken  measures  to 
co-operate  with  him  to  the  best  advantage ;  but,  as  the  conquest 
of  Canada  was  the  grand  object  now,  General  Amherst  had  or 
dered  Colonel  Montgomery  to  strike  a  sudden  blow  for  the  relief 
of  the  Carolinians,  and  then  to  return  to  headquarters  at  Albany, 
without  loss  of  time;  and  we  have  scarce  an  example  in  military 
history,  where  an  officer  fulfilled  his  commission  with  greater 
promptitude.  He  soon  after  rendezvoused  at  Congaree;  and, 
being  joined  by  many  gentlemen  of  distinction  as  volunteers, 
besides  the  principal  strength  of  the  country,  he  inarched  for  the 
heart  of  the  Cherokee  country.  After  reaching  a  place  called 
Twelve  Mile  River,  he  encamped  upon  advantageous  ground,  and 
marched  with  a  party  to  surprise  Estatoe,  about  twenty  miles 
from  his  camp.  In  the  way,  he  took  Little  Keowee,  and  put 
every  man  to  the  sword.  Estatoe  he  found  abandoned,  except 
by  a  few  that  could  not  escape,  and  it  was  reduced  to  ashes,  as 
was  Sugar  Town,  and  every  other  settlement  in  the  lower  nation. 
About  sixty  Indians  were  killed,  and  forty  taken  prisoners;  but 
the  warriors  had  generally  escaped  to  the  mountains  and  deserts. 
Thus  far,  the  campaign  had  been  prosperous  with  the  whites,  but 


OF  CAROLINA.  95 

three  or  four  men  having  been  killed ;  but  it  had  no  other  effect 
upon  the  Indians  than  to  increase  their  rage. 

"  Meanwhile,  Fort  Prince  George  had  been  closely  invested, 
and  Colonel  Montgomery  marched  to  its  relief.  From  this  place, 
two  friendly  chiefs  were  despatched  to  the  middle  settlements,  to 
offer  peace  to  the  people  there,  and  orders  were  sent  to  those  in 
command  at  Fort  London,  to  use  means  to  bring  about  an  accom 
modation  with  the  Upper  Towns;  but  the  Indians  would  not 
hear  to  any  terms,  and  Colonel  Montgomery  was  constrained  to 
march  again  to  find  the  enemy.  He  had  now  the  most  difficult 
part  of  his  service  to  perform.  The  country  through  whieh  he 
had  to  march  was  covered  by  dark  thickets,  numerous  deep 
ravines,  and  high  river  banks;  where  a  small  number  of  men 
might  distress  and  wear  out  the  best  appointed  army. 

"  Having  arrived  within  five  miles  of  Etchoe,  the  nearest  town 
of  the  middle  settlements,  the  army  was  attacked  on  the  27th  of 
June,  in  a  most  advantageous  place  for  the  attacking  party.  It 
was  a  low  valley,  in  which  the  bushes  were  so  thick,  that  the 
soldiers  could  see  scarcely  three  yards  before  them;  and  in  the 
bottom  of  this  valley  flowed  a  muddy  river,  with  steep  clay  banks. 
Through  this  place  the  army  must  march.  Rightly  judging,  the 
enemy  had  not  omitted  so  important  a  pass,  Colonel  Montgomery 
ordered  out  a  company  of  rangers,  under  Captain  Morrison,  to 
enter  the  ravine  and  make  discovery.  No  sooner  had  he  entered 
it,  than  the  fierce  war  whoop  was  raised,  and  the  Indians  darted 
from  covert  to  covert,  at  the  same  time  firing  upon  the  whites. 
Captain  Morrison  was  immediately  shot  down,  and  his  men 
closely  engaged;  but,  being  without  delay  supported  by  the  in 
fantry  and  grenadiers,  they  were  able  to  maintain  their  ground, 
and  the  battle  became  obstinate;  nor  could  the  Indians  be  dis 
lodged,  until  after  an  hour  of  hard  fighting.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  Ftoyal  Scots  took  possession  of  a  place  between  the  Indians 
and  a  rising  ground  on  their  right,  while  the  Highlanders  sustained 
the  light  infantry  and  grenadiers  on  the  left.  As  the  left  became 
too  warm  for  them,  and  not  well  understanding  the  position  of 
the  Royal  Scots,  the  Indians,  in  their  retreat,  fell  in  with  them, 
and  were  sharply  encountered;  but  they  soon  effected  their  re 
treat  to  a  hill,  and  could  no  more  be  brought  to  action.  In  this 
fight,  ninety-six  of  the  whites  were  killed  and  wounded,  of  whom 
twenty  were  of  the  former  number.  Of  the  Cherokees,  forty 
were  said  to  have  been  killed. 

"The  Indians  had  now  been  driven  from  one  ravine,  with  a 
small  loss;  but  Colonel  Montgomery  was  in  no  condition  to  pur 
sue  his  advantage  farther,  and  he,  therefore,  after  destroying  so 
much  of  his  provisions  as  would  afford  horses  for  the  wounded, 
began  his  retreat  out  of  the  Indian  country,  and,  in  obedience  to 


96  INDIAN  WARS 

his  commission,  Boon  after  returned  to  New  York;  not  however, 
without  leaving  four  -hundred  men  for  the  security  of  the  pro- 
vince      But  it  was  soon  seen,  that  what  had  yet  been  done  only 
increased  the  rage  of  the  Indians,  and  their  depreda turns Con 
tinued  at  the  very  heels  of  the  retreating  army.     They  immedi 
ately  cut  off  all  communication  with  Fort  Loudon,  which  was 
garrisoned  with  two  hundred  men.     Ockonostota,  with  his  nu 
merous  warriors,  kept  strict  watch,  insomuch,  that  there  was  no 
means  of  escape.     At  length,  the  garrison  having  miserably  sub 
sisted,   for  some  time,  upon  poor  famished  horses,   dogs    &c., 
many  of  them  became  resolved  to  throw  themselves  into  the 
power  of  the  Indians,  wishing  rather  to  die  by  their  hands,  than 
miserably  to  perish  within  their  fortress      Captain  Stewart,  an 
officer  amono-  them,  was  well  known  to  the  Indians,  and  possessed 
great  addresl  and  sagacity.     He  resolved,  at  this  crisis,  to  repair 
to  Chote,  the  residence  of  Ockonostota,  and  make  overtures  for 
the   surrender  of  the  garrison.     He,   accordingly,   effected   his 
object,  and  returned  with  articles  of  capitulation  agreed  upon. 
Besides  the  names  of  Ockonostota  and  Paul  Dem  ere,  the  com- 
mander  of  the  garrison,  the  name  of  another  chief  was  subscribed 
to  the   articles,  called  Cunigacatgoae.      The  articles  stipulated, 
that  the  garrison  should  march  out  with  their  arms  and  drums, 
each  soldier  having  as  much  powder  and  ball  as  his  officers 
should  think  necessary,  and  that  they  should  march  for  Virginia 

^^Acfofdingly,  on  the  7th  of  August,  1760  the  English  took 
up  their  march  for  Fort  Prince  George.  They  had  proceeded 
but  about  fifteen  miles,  when  they  encamped,  for  the  night  upon 
a  small  plain  near  Taliquo.  They  were  accompanied  thus  far  by 
Ockonostota  in  person,  and  many  others,  in  a  friendly  manner, 
but  at  night  they  withdrew  without  giving  any  notice  The 
army  was  not  molested  during  the  night,  but,  at  dawn  of  day,  a 
sentinel  came  running  into  camp  with  the  information  that  a  host 
of  Indians  were  creeping  up  to  surround  them  Captain  Demere 
had  scarce  time  to  rally,  before  the  Indians  broke  into .his  camp 
with  ereat  fury.  The  poor  emaciated  soldiers  made  but  feeble 
resistance.  Thirty  of  their  number  fell  in  the  first  onset,  among 
whom  was  their  captain.  Those  that  were  able,  endeavored  to 
save  themselves  by  flight,  and  others  surrendered  themselves 
upon  the  place.  This  massacre,  it  will  not  be  forgotten,  was  m 
retaliation  for  that  of  the  hostages,  already  related  Among  the 
prisoners  was  Captain  Stewart.  They  were  conducted  to  Fort 
Loudon,  which  now  became  Ockonostota' s  headquarters. 

« Attakullakulla,  learning  that  his  friend  Stewart  was  among 
the  captives,  proceeded  immediately  to  Fort  Loudon,  where  he 
ransomed  him  at  the  expense  of  all  the  property  he  could  com- 


OP  CAROLINA, 


97 


mand,  and  took  care  of  him  with  the  greatest  tenderness  and 
affection. 

u  The  restless  Ockonostota  next  resolved  to  invest  Fort  Prince 
George.  He  was  induced  to  undertake  that  project,  as  fortune 
had  thrown  in  his  way  some  of  the  means  for  such  an  undertak 
ing,  hitherto  beyond  his  reach.  Before  leaving  Fort  Loudon, 
the  English  had  hid  in  the  ground  several  bags  of  powder.  This 
his  men  had  found.  Several  cannon  had  also  been  left  behind, 
and  he  designed  to  force  his  English  prisoners  to  get  them 
through  the  woods,  and  manage  them  in  the  attack  upon  Fort 
Prince  George.  But  Attakullakulla  defeated  these  operations,  by 
assisting  Captain  Stewart  to  escape.  He  even  accompanied  him 
to  the  English  settlements,  and  returned  loaded  with  presents." 

As  the  Indians  were  now  masters  of  the  field,  application  was 
again  made  to  General  Amherst  for  aid,  and  he  quickly  gave  it. 
Sir  James  Grant  arrived  in  South  Carolina  in  1761,  and  took  the 
field  with  a  force  of  twenty-six  hundred  Englishmen  and  Indians. 
He  traversed  the  Cherokee  country,  and  subdued  that  people  in 
a  hard  fought  battle,  near  the  same  place  where  Colonel  Mont 
gomery  had  been  attacked  the  year  before.  The  fight  lasted 
three  hours,  and  about  sixty  whites  were  killed  and  wounded. 
The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  not  known.  Colonel  Grant  then 
destroyed  fifteen  of  the  Cherokee  towns.  Peace  was  at  length 
restored  by  the  mediation  of  Attakullakulla,  who  had,  during  the 
whole  contest,  shown  himself,  to  be  a  wise,  humane,  and  peace 
loving  man. 


A  TATOOXB  INDIAN. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
QUEEN  ANNE'S  WAR, 

WAR  was  declared  against  France  by  Queen  Anne,  of  Eng 
land,  in  May,  1702,  and,  of  course,  the  contest  was  renewed  in 
America.  Villebon,  the  governor  of  Canada,  immediately  began 
to  encroach  upon  the  northern  frontier  of  the  British  colonies, 
and  to  instigate  the  Indians  to  commence  their  destructive  rav 
ages.  Dudley,  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  visited  Casco, 
Maine,  in  June,  1703,  and  held  a  conference  with  a  number  of 
Indian  chiefs,  and  concluded  a  treaty  which  the  Indians  promised 
to  observe  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  should  continue.  Not 
withstanding  these  protestations,  they  made  an  attack  a  few 
weeks  after  upon  all  the  settlements  from  Casco  to  Wells,  killing 
and  taking  one  hundred  and  thirty  persons,  and  destroying  all 
in  their  way. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1703,  a  party  of  Indians  attacked 
Hampton  village,  killed  five  persons,  and  plundered  two  houses. 
This  alarmed  the  neighboring  country,  and  the  Indians  fled.  In 
(98) 


ATTACK  AND  PLUNDSB  OF   THX  DBAD, 


OF  QUEEN   ANNE.  101 

the  fall,  Colonel  March,  of  Casco,  attacked  a  party  of  the  enemy, 
killing  six  and  taking  six  prisoners.  Hostilities  were  suspended 
during  the  winter. 

In  the  spring,  Colonel  Church,  renowned  as  the  conqueror  of 
Metacomet,  planned  an  expedition  against  the  Indians  in  Maine, 
and  sailed  from  Boston,  with  a  number  of  small  boats,  in  May. 
At  Green  Island,  he  took  a  number  of  prisoners,  and  at  Penob- 
scot,  he  took  or  killed  every  Indian  or  Frenchman  who  could  be 
found.  Among  the  captives  was  a  daughter  of  Castein,  whom  they 
kindly  treated,  though  her  father  had  been  such  a  bloody  foe  of 
New  England.  Thence  they  proceeded,  and  drove  the  French  and 
Indians  from  Passamaquaddy.  Sailing  across  the  bay,  they  took 
Menas,  a  town  in  Nova  Scotia.  On  his  return,  Colonel  Church 
touched  at  various  places  on  the  main  and  the  islands,  and  found 
that  the  enemy  were  all  gone.  He  was  informed  that  the  French 
priests  had  told  the  Indians,  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  live 
in  the  same  country  with  the  English,  and  advised  them  to  re 
move  to  the  Mississippi,  promising  to  go  and  live  and  die  with 
them.  According  to  this  advice  of  the  French,  who  had  excited 
them  to  quarrel,  and  were  the  occasion  of  their  ruin  and  suffer 
ings,  the  Indians  left  their  homes,  their  provisions,  and  their 
country  to  the  victorious  English. 

In  the  winter,  a  body  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  men,  under 
Colonel  Hilton,  proceeded  against  the  Norridgewock  Indians. 
But  upon  arriving  at  their  village,  it  was  found  deserted,  and  the 
English  could  only  content  themselves  with  burning  the  wigwams 
and  the  chapel  built  by  the  Jesuit,  Father  Halle.  The  governor 
of  Canada  induced  the  Indians  on  the  frontier  of  New  England 
to  remove  to  Canada,  by  which  course,  he  attached  them  by 
stronger  bonds  to  the  interests  of  the  French.  Although  both 
parties  made  preparations  for  offence  and  defence,  nothing  oc 
curred  until  April,  1706,  when  the  Indians  killed  a  number  of 
people  at  a  house  on  Oyster  river.  Governor  Dudley  kept  a 
vigilant  eye  upon  the  French  movements  during  this  period,  and 
was  well  prepared  to  counteract  them. 

In  July,  1706,  Dudley  was  informed  that  a  party  of  the  enemy 
was  marching  towards  Piscataqua.  He  immediately  ordered  the 
people  of  that  place  to  keep  close  within  their  fortifications,  and 
had  the  militia  ready  to  assist  them.  Major  Hilton,  with  sixty 
men,  marched  forward  to  meet  the  enemy,  but  was  obliged  to 
return,  without  accomplishing  his  object.  As  Major  Hilton  was 
dreaded  by  the  enemy,  on  account  of  his  bravery  and  activity, 
they  determined  to  get  rid  of  him,  if  possible.  For  this  purpose, 
his  hou^e  was  constantly  watched,  and  at  one  time,  a  party  of 
mowers  was  attacked,  four  killed,  one  wounded,  and  three  taken 
captive.  Hilton,  however,  eluded  his  foes;  and  in  tLe  winter  of 


102  INDIAN  WARS 

1707,  he  marched  eastward,  and  in  the  course  of  his  expedition, 
killed  twenty-one  men,  and  took  two.  Considering  the  difficulty 
of  getting  at  the  haunts  of  the  Indians,  this  was  a  triumph  very 
honorable  to  the  valiant  major. 

In  1707,  a  party  of  French  Mohawks,  painted  red,  attacked 
some  Englishmen  who  were  hewing  timber,  near  Oyster  river. 
At  the  first  fire,  they  killed  seven  and  mortally  wounded  another. 
Chesley,  the  brave  English  commander,  kept  the  French  in 
check  for  some  time;  but,  overpowered  by  numbers,  he  was  slain, 
and  his  men  either  killed,  captured,  or  dispersed. 

But  a  more  serious  attack  was  made  upon  Haverhill,  in  Au 
gust,  1708,  by  a  party  of  French  and  Indians,  sent  by  the  Mar 
quis  de  Vandreuil,  governor  of  Canada,  to  attack  Portsmouth. 

On  the  16th  of  July,  the  army  of  French  and  Indians  started 
from  Canada.  The  Hurons  and  the  Mohawks  soon  found  pre 
texts  for  returning  home.  The  French  officers,  however,  accom 
panied  by  the  Algonquin  and  St.  Francis  Indians,  making  collect 
ively,  a  body  of  about  two  hundred  men,  marched  between  three 
and  four  hundred  miles  through  the  woods  toNikipisique,  expecting 
to  be  joined  there  by  the  eastern  Indians.  Though  disappointed 
in  that  expectation,  they  went  forward,  and  on  the  29th  of  Au 
gust,  about  break  of  day,  surprised  the  town  of-  Haverhill,  on 
Slerrimack  river,  burned  several  houses,  and  plundered  the  rest. 
Mr.  Rolfe,  the  minister,  Captain  Wainwright,  and  between  thirty 
and  forty  persons  were  killed,  and  many  taken  prisoners.  The 
French  and  Indians  then  retreated,  without  attempting  to  prose 
cute  the  objects  of  the  expedition  any  further. 

During  the  remainder  of  this  war,  the  Indians  ravaged  the 
frontiers  of  New  England,  and  committed  their  customary  acts 
of  cruelty;  but  no  important  contest  between  them  and  the 
whites  is  recorded.  The  French  did  not  restrain  their  savage 
allies,  even  when  they  had  full  power  to  do  so;  and,  therefore, 
must  bear  their  full  share  of  the  stigma  attached  to  such  deeds. 
When  peace  was  concluded  in  1713,  the  Indians  complied  with 
the  request  of  the  French,  and  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the 
colonists.  Thus  were  the  English  inhabitants  once  more  relieved 
from  the  terrors  of  savage  warfare. 


AIT1CTC  OS  HAVBKHILL. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

LOVEWELI/S  WAR. 

THE  contest  between  the  New  England  colonists  and  the  In 
dians,  which  begun  in  1722,  and  concluded  in  1725,  was  called 
"Lovewell's  War,"  from  Captain  John  Lovewell,  of  Dunstable, 
being  the  principal  English  commander  engaged  in  it.  Although 
the  English  had  purchased  the  greater  portion  of  the  land  they 
occupied,  the  Indians,  instigated  by  the  French,  would  not  ac 
knowledge  their  title.  The  colonial  government  were  anxious  to 
avoid  a  war,  and  endeavored  to  settle  the  difficulties  at  confer 
ences  held  between  the  two  parties.  Nothing  would  satisfy  the 
Indians  but  a  complete  settlement  of  the  boundaries.  This  the 
English  governor,  Shute,  refused  to  effect,  and  the  parties  left 
the  conferences  with  embittered  feelings,  but  hostilities  did  not 
commence  immediately. 

The  most  influential  of  the  French  Jesuits,  who  were  among 
the  eastern  tribes,  was  Father  Halle.  He  had  built  a  chapel  at 
Norridgewock,  and  lived  as  a  sort  of  chief  ruler  over  the  Indians 
of  that  village.  That  he  acted  as  the  agent  of  the  French  gov 
ernment,  and  took  every  occasion  to  excite  the  Indians  to  war 
against  the  English,  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  papers  captured 
by  Colonel  Westbrook,  in  1722.  That  officer  was  despatched' to 
Norridgewock,  by  the  government  of  Massachusetts,  to  take  the 
Jesuit;  but  he  escaped. 

Regarding  this  as  a  new  aggression,  the  Indians  began  their 
hostilities  at  once.  An  attack  was  made  upon  Fort  George;  but 
it  failed.  In  revenge  for  this  disappointment,  the  Indians  at- 

(105) 


106  INDIAN  WARS 

tacked  and  destroyed  the  town  of  Brunswick.  Massachusetts 
now  declared  war.  The  border  garrisons  were  increased,  and 
Lieutenant-governor  Wentworth  was  active  and  unwearying  in 
his  efforts  to  place  them  in  an  efficient  condition.  One  hundred 
pounds  was  offered  for  every  Indian  scalp  which  should  be  pre 
sented  to  any  magistrate.  Dover  was  attacked  by  the  Indians, 
but  the  inhabitants  nearly  all  escaped  to  the  fort,  and  the  foe 
retreated. 

In  the  spring  of  1724,  Kingston  was  attacked,  and  four  per 
sons  captured,  one  of  whom  afterwards  made  his  escape.  At 
Oyster  Bay,  some  Indians  were  discovered  lurking  in  the  field 
of  Moses  Davis,  and  a  company  of  volunteers,  under  Abraham 
Renwick,  being  notified  of  the  fact,  they  hastened  to  the  place, 
and,  after  Davis  and  his  son  had  been  killed,  drove  the  Indians 
from  their  shelter,  with  the  loss  of  three  men.  The  remainder 
succeeded  in  making  their  escape. 

While  the  enemy  were  thus  active,  the  colonists  determined 
on  an  expedition  against  the  Norridgewock  Indians.  The  force 
which  proceeded  on  this  business,  consisted  of  two  hundred  and 
eight  men  and  three  Mohawk  warriors,  and  was  commanded  by 
Captains  Harman  and  Moulton.  "  They  came  upon  the  village/' 
says  Mr.  Drake,  "the  23d  of  August,  while  there  was  not  a  man 
in  arms  to  oppose  them.  They  had  left  forty  of  their  men  at 
Teconet  Falls,  which  is  now  within  the  town  of  Winslow,  upon 
the  Kennebec,  and  about  two  miles  below  Waterville  College, 
upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  The  English  had  divided 
themselves  into  three  squadrons:  eighty,  under  Harman,  pro 
ceeded  by  a  circuitous  route,  thinking  to  surprise  some  in  their 
corn  fields,  while  Moulton,  with  eighty  more,  proceeded  directly 
for  the  village,  which,  being  surrounded  by  trees,  could  not  be 
seen  until  they  were  close  upon  it.  All  were  in  their  wigwams, 
and  the  English  advanced  slowly  and  in  perfect  silence.  When 
pretty  near,  an  Indian  came  out  of  his  wigwam,  and,  accidently 
discovering  the  English,  ran  in  and  seized  his  gun,  and  giving 
the  war  whoop,  in  a  few  minutes  the  warriors  were  all  in  arms, 
and  advancing  to  meet  them.  Moulton  ordered  his  men  not  to 
fire  until  the  Indians  had  made  the  first  discharge.  This  order 
was  obeyed,  and,  as  he  expected,  they  overshot  the  English,  who 
then  fired  upon  them,  in  their  turn,  and  did  great  execution. 
When  the  Indians  had  given  another  volley,  they  fled  with  great 
precipitation  to  the  river,  whither  the  chief  of  their  women  and 
children  had  also  fled  during  the  fight.  Some  of  the  English  pur 
sued  and  killed  many  of  them  in  the  river,  and  others  fell  to 
pillaging  and  burning  the  village.  Mogg  disdained  to  fly  with 
the  rest,  but  kept  possession  of  a  wigwam,  from  which  he  fired 
upon  the  pillagers.  In  one  of  his  discharges,  he  killed  a  Mo- 


OF   LOVEWELL.  107 

hawk,  whose  brother  observing  it,  rushed  upon  Mogg  and  killed 
him ;  and  thus  ended  the  strife.  There  were  about  sixty  warriors 
in  the  place,  about  one  half  of  whom  were  killed. 

"The  famous  Halle  shut  himself  up  in  his  house,  from  which 
he  fired  upon  the  English;  and,  having  wounded  one,  Lieutenant 
Jaques,  of  Newbury,  burst  open  the  door  and  shot  him  through 
the  head;  although  Moulton  had  given  orders  that  none  should 
kill  him.  He  had  an  English  boy  with  him,  about  fourteen 
years  old,  who  had  been  taken  some  time  before  from  the  fron 
tiers,  and  whom  the  English  reported  Rasle  was  about  to  kill. 
Great  brutality  and  ferocity  are  chargeable  to  the  English  in  this 
aflair,  according  to  their  own  account;  such  as  killing  women  and 
children,  and  scalping  and  mangling  the  body  of  Father  Ralle." 

The  great  reward  offered  for  scalps,  induced  one  John  Love- 
well  to  raise  a  company  of  volunteers,  and  hunt  the  Indians.  On 
his  first  scout,  he  captured  one  Indian  and  got  one  scalp,  which 
he  brought  into  Boston  on  the  5th  of  January,  1725. 

Encouraged  by  this  success,  Lovewell  marched  a  third  time ; 
intending  to  attack  the  villages  of  Pigwacket,  on  the  upper  part 
of  the  river  Saco,  which  had  been  the  residence  of  a  formidable 
tribe,  and  which  they  still  occasionally  inhabited.  His  company 
at  this  time  consisted  of  forty-six,  including  a  chaplain  and  sur 
geon;  two  of  them  proving  lame,  returned:  another  falling  sick, 
they  halted,  and  built  a  stockade  fort  on  the  west  side  of  the 
great  Ossapy  pond;  partly  for  the  accommodation  of  the  sick 
man,  and  partly  for  a  place  of  retreat  in  case  of  any  misfortune. 
Here  the  surgeon  was  left  with  the  sick  man,  and  eight  of  the 
company  for  a  guard.  The  number  was  now  reduced  to  thirty- 
four.  Pursuing  their  march  to  the  northward,  they  came  to  a 
pond,  about  twenty-two  miles  distant  from  the  fort,  and  encamped 
by  the  side  of  it.  Early  the  next  morning,  May  8th,  while  at 
their  devotions,  they  heard  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  discovered  a 
single  Indian  standing  on  a  point  of  land,  which  runs  into  the 
pond,  more  than  a  mile  distant.  They  suspected  that  the  Indian 
was  placed  there  to  decoy  them,  and  that  a  body  of  the  enemy 
was  in  their  front.  A  consultation  being  held,  they  determined 
to  march  forward,  and  by  encompassing  the  pond,  to  gain  the 
place  where  the  Indian  stood;  and  that  they  might  be  ready  for 
action,  they  disencumbered  themselves  of  their  packs,  and  left 
them,  without  a  guard,  at  the  northeast  end  of  the  pond,  in  a 
pitch  pine  plain,  where  the  trees  were  thin,  and  the  brakes,  at 
that  time  of  the  year,  small.  It  happened,  that  LovewelPs 
march  had  crossed  a  carrying  place,  by  which  two  parties  of  In 
dians,  consisting  of  forty-one  men,  commanded  by  Paugus  and 
Wahwa,  who  had  been  scouting  down  Saco  river,  were  returning 
to  the  lower  village  of  Pigwacket,  distant  about  a  mile  and  a  half 


108  INDIAN  WARS 

from  this  pond.  Having  fallen  on  his  track,  they  followed  it  till 
they  came  to  the  packs,  which  they  removed ;  and  counting  them, 
found  the  number  of  his  men  to  be  less  than  their  own :  they, 
therefore,  placed  themselves  in  ambush,  to  attack  them  on  their 
return.  The  Indian  who  had  stood  on  the  point,  and  was  return 
ing  to  the  village,  by  another  path,  met  them,  and  received  their 
fire,  which  he  returned,  and  wounded  Lovewell  and  another  with 
small  shot.  Lieutenant  Wyinan  firing  again,  killed  him,  and 
they  took  his  scalp.  Seeing  no  other  enemy,  they  returned  to 
the  place  where  they  had  left  their  packs,  and  while  they  were 
looking  for  them,  the  Indians  rose  and  ran  toward  them  with  a 
horrid  yelling.  A  smart  firing  commenced  on  both  sides,  it 
being  now  about  ten  of  the  clock.  Captain  Lovewell  and  eight 
more  were  killed  on  the  spot.  Lieutenant  Farwell  and  two 
others  were  wounded:  several  of  the  Indians  fell;  but,  being 
superior  in  number,  they  endeavored  to  surround  the  party,  who, 
perceiving  their  intention,  retreated;  hoping  to  be  sheltered  by 
a  point  of  rocks  which  ran  into  the  pond,  and  a  few  large  pine 
trees  standing  on  a  sandy  beech.  In  this  forlorn  place  they  took 
their  station.  On  their  right  was  the  mouth  of  a  brook,  at  that 
time  unfordable ;  on  their  left  was  the  rocky  point;  their  front 
was  partly  covered  by  a  deep  bog  and  partly  uncovered,  and  the 
pond  was  in  their  rear.  The  enemy  galled  them  in  front  and 
flank,  and  had  them  so  completely  in  their  power,  that  had  they 
made  a  prudent  use  of  their  advantage,  the  whole  company  must 
either  have  been  killed,  or  obliged  to  surrender  at  discretion; 
being  destitute  of  a  mouthful  of  sustenance,  and  an  escape  being 
impracticable.  Under  the  conduct  of  Lieutenant  Wyman  they 
kept  up  their  fire,  and  showed  a  resolute  countenance  all  the  re 
mainder  of  the  day ;  during  which,  their  chaplain,  Jonathan  Frie, 
Ensign  E-obbins,  and  one  more,  were  mortally  wounded.  The 
Indians  invited  them  to  surrender,  by  holding  up  ropes  to  them, 
and  endeavored  to  intimidate  them  by  their  hideous  yells;  but 
they  determined  to  die,  rather  than  yield;  and  by  their  well 
directed  fire,  the  number  of  the  savages  was  thinned,  and  their 
cries  became  fainter,  till,  just  before  night,  they  quitted  their 
advantageous  ground,  carrying  off  their  killed  and  wounded,  and 
leaving  the  dead  bodies  of  Lovewell  and  his  men  unscalped.  The 
shattered  remnant  of  this  brave  company,  collecting  themselves 
together,  found  three  of  their  number  unable  to  move  from  the 
spot,  eleven  wounded  but  able  to  march,  and  nine  who  had  re 
ceived  no  hurt.  It  was  melancholy  to  leave  their  dying  com 
panions  behind,  but  there  was  no  possibility  of  removing  them. 
One  of  them,  Ensign  Bobbins,  desired  them  to  lay  his  gun  by 
him  charged,  that  if  the  Indians  should  return  before  his  death, 
he  might  be  able  to  kill  one  more.  After  the  rising  of  the  moon, 


OP   LOVEWELL. 


109 


they  quitted  the  fatal  spot,  and  directed  their  march  toward  the 
fort,  where  the  surgeon  and  guard  had  been  left.  To  their  great 
surprise,  they  found  it  deserted.  In  the  beginning  of  the  action, 
one  man,  (whose  name  has  not  been  thought  worthy  to  be  trans 
mitted  to  posterity,)  quitted  the  field,  and  fled  to  the  fort;  where, 
in  the  style  of  Job's  messengers,  he  informed  them  of  LovewelFs 
death,  arid  the  defeat  of  the  whole  company;  upon  which,  they 
made  the  best  of  their  way  home;  leaving  a  quantity  of  bread 
and  pork,  which  was  a  seasonable  relief  to  the  retreating  survi 
vors.  From  this  place  they  endeavored  to  get  home.  Lieutenant 
Farwell,  and  the  chaplain,  who  had  the  journal  of  the  march  in 
his  pocket,  and  one  more,  perished  in  the  woods,  for  want  of 
dressing  for  their  wounds.  The  others,  after  enduring  the  most 
severe  hardships,  came  in,  one  after  another,  and  were  not  only 
received  with  joy,  but  were  recompensed  for  their  valor,  and  suf 
ferings;  and  a  generous  provision  was  made  for  the  widows  and 
children  of  the  slain. 


THS    8COUT. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  FRENCH  AND   INDIAN   WAR   FROM   1754   TO   1759. 

AFTER  the  peace,  concluded  between  France  and  England  in 
1748,  the  French,  excluded  from  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North 
America,  designed  to  take  possession  of  the  country  further  west, 
and  for  this  purpose,  commenced  to  "build  a  chain  of  forts  to  con 
nect  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi  rivers.  The  English, 
to  prevent  this  scheme  from  being  carried  into  action,  formed  an 
Ohio  company,  to  whom  a  considerable  extent  of  country  was 
granted  by  the  English  government.  Upon  hearing  of  this,  the 
governor  of  Canada  notified  the  governors  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  that  if  the  English  traders  came  upon  the  western 
territory,  they  would  be  seized  or  killed. 

This  menace  did  not  divert  the  Ohio  company  from  prosecut 
ing  its  design  of  surveying  the  country  as  far  as  the  falls  in  the 
Ohio  river.  While  Mr.  Gist  was  making  that  survey -for  the 
company,  some  French  parties,  with  their  Indians,  seized  three 
British  traders,  and  carried  them  to  Presque  Isle,  on  Lake  Erie, 
where  a  strong  fort  was  then  erecting.  The  British,  alarmed  at 
this  capture,  retired  to  the  Indian  towns  for  shelter;  and  the 
Twightwees,  resenting  the  violence  done  to  their  allies,  assem 
bled,  to  the  number  of  five  hundred  or  six  hundred,  scoured  the 
woods,  and,  finding  three  French  traders,  sent  them  to  Pennsyl 
vania.  The  French  determined  to  persist;  built  a  strong  fort, 
about  fifteen  miles  south  of  the  former,  on  one  of  the  branches 
(110) 


THE   SEVEN  TEARS*  WAR.  113 

of  the  Ohio ;  and  another  still,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and 
Wabache;  and  thus  completed  their  long  projected  communica 
tion  between  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  river  St.  Law 
rence. 

The  Ohio  company  complained  loudly  of  these  aggressions  on 
the  country  which  had  been  granted  to  it  as  part  of  the  territory 
of  Virginia:  Kobert  Dinwiddie,  lieutenant  governor  'of  that  co 
lony,  considered  the  encroachment  as  an  invasion  of  his  province, 
and  judged  it  his  duty  to  demand,  in  the  name  of  the  king,  that 
the  French  should  desist  from  the  prosecution  of  designs,  which 
he  considered  as  a  violation  of  the  treaties  subsisting  between  the 
two  crowns.  This  service,  it  was  foreseen,  would  be  rendered 
very  fatiguing  and  hazardous  by  the  extensive  tract  of  country, 
almost  entirely  unexplored,  through  which  an  envoy  must  pass,  as 
well  as  by  the  hostile  dispositions  of  some  of  the  Indian  inhabit 
ants,  and  the  doubtful  attachments  of  others.  Uninviting,  how 
ever,  and  even  formidable,  as  it  was,  a  regard  to  the  intrinsic- 
importance  of  the  territory  in  question,  with  extensive  views  into 
the  future  interest  of  the  American  colonies,  incited  an  enter 
prising  and  public  spirited  young  man  to  undertake  it.  GEORGE 
WASHINGTON,  then  in  his  twenty-second  year,  instantly  engaged 
in  the  difficult  and  perilous  service.  Attended  by  one  person 
only,  he  set  out  from  Williamsburg  on  the  31st  of  October.  The 
season  was  uncommonly  severe,  and  the  length  of  his  journey 
was  above  four  hundred  miles,  two  hundred  of  which  lay  through 
•  a  trackless  desert,  inhabited  by  Indians.  On  the  14th  of  No 
vember,  he  arrived  at  Will's  creek,  then,  the  exterior  settlement 
of  the  English,  where  he  procured  guides  to  conduct  him  over 
the  Alleghany  mountains;  and,  after  being  considerably  im 
peded  by  the  snow  and  high  water,  he,  on  the  22d,  reached  the 
mouth  of  Turtle  creek,  on  the  Monongahela.  Pursuing  his  route, 
he  ascended  the  Alleghany  river,  and  at  the  mouth  of  French 
creek  found  the  first  fort  occupied  by  the  troops  of  France.  Pro 
ceeding  up  the  creek  to  another  fort,  he  was  received,  on  the 
12th  of  December,  by  M.  Lagardier  de  St.  Pierre,  commanding 
officer  on  the  Ohio,  to  whom  he  delivered  the  letter  of  Governor 
Dinwiddie.  The  chief  officers  retired,  to  hold  a  council  of  war; 
and  Washington  seized  that  opportunity  of  taking  the  dimensions 
of  the  fort,  and  making  all  possible  observations. 

Having  received  a  written  answer  for  the  Virginia  governor, 
he  returned  to  Williamsburg.  The  answer  of  St.  Pierre  stated, 
that  he  had  taken  possession  of  the  country  by  direction  of  the 
governor  general  of  Canada;  that  he  would  transmit  Governor 
Dinwiddie's  letter  to  him;  and  that  to  his  orders  he  should  yield 
implicit  obedience. 

8 


114 


INDIAN  WARS. 


WASHINGTON  GOING  THROUGH  THE  WILDERNESS  TO  THE  FRENCH  FORT. 

The  conclusion  of  Washington's  expedition  is  thus  described 
by  himself,  in  his  journal : 

"  Our  horses  were  now  so  weak  and  feeble,  and  the  baggage 
so  heavy,  (as  we  were  obliged  to  provide  all  the  necessaries 
which  the  journey  would  require,)  that  we  doubted  much  their 
performing  it.  Therefore,  myself  and  others,  except  the  drivers, 
who  were  obliged  to  ride,  gave  up  our  horses  for  packs,  to  assist 
along  with  the  baggage.  I  put  myself  in  an  Indian  walking 
dress,  and  continued  with  them  three  days,  until  I  found  there 
was  no  probability  of  their  getting  home  in  any  reasonable  time. 
The  horses  became  less  able  to  travel  every  day ;  the  cold  in 
creased  very  fast;  and  the  roads*  were  becoming  much  worse  by 
a  deep  snow,  continually  freezing:  therefore,  as  I  was  uneasy  to 
get  back,  to  make  report  of  my  proceedings  to  his  honor  the 
governor,  I  determined  to  prosecute  my  journey,  the  nearest  way 
through  the  woods,  on  foot. 

"Accordingly,  I  left  Mr.  Vanbraam  in  charge  of  our  baggage, 
with  money  and  directions  to  provide  necessaries  from  place  to 
place  for  themselves  and  horses,  and  to  make  the  most  conve 
nient  despatch  in  travelling. 


THE   SEVEN   YEARS'  WAR.  117 

"  I  took  my  necessary  papers,  pulled  off  my  clothes,  and  tied 
myself  up  in  a  watch  coat.  Then,  with  gun  in  hand,  and  pack 
on  my  back,  in  which  were  my  papers  and  provisions,  I  set  out 
with  Mr.  Gist,  fitted  in  the  same  manner,  on  Wednesday,  the 
26th.  The  day  following,  just  after  we  had  passed  a  place  called 
Murdering  town,  (where  we  intended  to  quit  the  path  and  steei 
across  the  country  for  Shanapin's  town,)  we  fell  in  with  a"  party 
of  French  Indians,  who  had  laid  in  wait  for  us.  One  r,f  them 
fired  at  Mr.  Gist  or  me,  not  fifteen  steps  off,  hut  fortunately 
missed.  We  took  this  fellow  into  custody,  and  kept  him  until 
about  nine  o'clock  at  night,  then  let  him  go,  and  walked  all  the 
remaining  part  of  the  night  without  making  any  stop,  that  we 
might  get  the  start,  so  far  as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  their  pur 
suit  the  next  day,  since  we  were  well  assured  they  would  follow 
our  track  as  soon  as  it  was  light.  The  next  day  we  continued 
travelling  until  quite  dark,  and  got  to  the  river  about  two  miles 
above  Shanapin's.  We  expected  to  have  found  the  river  frozen, 
but  it  was  not,  only  about  fifty  yards  from  each  shore.  The  ice, 
I  suppose,  had  broken  up  above,  for  it  was  driving  in  vast  quan 
tities. 

"  There  was  no  way  for  getting  over  but  on  a  raft,  which  we 
set  about,  with  but  one  poor  hatchet,  and  finished  just  after  sun 
setting.  This  was  a  whole  day's  work :  we  next  got  it  launched, 
then  went  on  board  of  it,  and  set  off;  but,  before  we  were  half 
way  over,  we  were  jammed  in  the  ice,  in  such  a  manner,  that  we 
expected  every  moment  our  raft  to  sink,  and  ourselves  to  perish. 
I  put  out  my  setting  pole  to  try  to  stop  the  raft,  that  the  ice 
might  pass  by,  when  the  rapidity  of  the  stream  threw  it  with  so 
much  violence  against  the  pole,  that  it  jerked  me  out  into  ten 
feet  water;  but  I  fortunately  saved  myself  by  catching  hold  of 
one  of  the  raft  logs.  Notwithstanding  all  our  efforts,  we  could 
not  get  to  either  shore,  but  were  obliged,  as  we  were  near  an 
island,  to  quit  our  raft  and  make  to  it. 

"  The  cold  was  so  extremely  severe,  that  Mr.  Gist  had  all  his 
fingers,  and  some  of  his  toes  frozen,  and  the  water  was  shut  up 
so  hard,  that  we  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  off  the  island  on 
the  ice  in  the  morning,  and  went  to  Mr.  Frazier's.  We  met 
here  with  twenty  warriors,  who  were  going  to  the  southward  to 
war;  but  coming  to  a  place  on  the  head  of  the  Great  Kanawa, 
where  they  found  seven  people  killed  and  scalped,  (all  but  one 
woman  with  very  light  hair,)  they  turned  about  and  ran  back, 
for  fear  the  inhabitants  should  rise  and  take  tham  as  the  authors 
of  the  murder.  They  report,  that  the  bodies  were  lying  about 
the  house,  and  some  of  them  much  torn  and  eaten  by  the  hogs. 
By  the  marks  which  were  left,  they  say  they  were  French  In 
dians  of  the  Ottowa  nation,  &c.,  who  did  it. 


118  INDIAN  WARS. 

"As  we  intended  to  take  horses  here,  and  it  required  some 
time  to  find  them,  I  went  up  about  three  miles  to  the  mouth  of 
Yohogany,  to  visit  Queen  Alliquippa,  who  had  expressed  great 
concern  that  we  had  passed  her  in  going  to  the  fort.  I  made  her 
a  present  of  a  watch  coat  and  a  bottle  of  rum,  which  latter  was 
thought  much  the  best  present  of  the  two. 

"Tuesday,  the  1st  of  January,  we  left  Mr.  Frazier's  house, 
and  arrived  at  Mr.  Gist's,  at  Monongahela,  the  2d,  where  I 
bought  a  horse,  saddle,  &c.  The  6th,  we  met  seventeen  horses 
loaded  with  materials  and  stores  for  a  fort  at  the  forks  of  Ohio, 
and  the  day  after,  some  families  going  out  to  settle.  This  day, 
we  arrived  at  Wills' s  Creek,  after  as  fatiguing  a  journey  as  it  is 
possible  to  conceive,  rendered  so  by  excessive  bad  weather.  From 
the  1st  day  of  December  to  the  15th,  there  was  but  one  day  on 
which  it  did  not  rain  or  snow  incessantly;  and  throughout  the 
whole  journey,  we  met  with  nothing  but  one  continued  series  of 
cold,  wet  weather,  which  occasioned  very  uncomfortable  lodgings, 
especially  after  we  had  quitted  our  tent,  which  was  some  screen 
from  the  inclemency  of  it. 

"  On  the  llth,  I  got  to  Belvoir,  where  I  stopped  one  day  to 
take  necessary  rest;  and  then  set  out  and  arrived  in  Williams- 
burg  the  16th,  when  I  waited  upon  his  honor  the  governor,  with 
the  letter  I  had  brought  from  the  French  commandant,  and  to 
give  an  account  of  the  success  of  my  proceedings.  This  I  beg 
leave  to  do  by  offering  the  foregoing  narrative,  as  it  contains  the 
most  remarkable  occurrences  which  happened  in  my  journey." 

The  answer  from  the  French  commandant  brought  by  Wash 
ington,  was  the  signal  for  active  measures.  A  regiment  was 
immediately  raised  for  the  service  by  the  government  of  Virgi 
nia,  and  George  Washington,  who  was  appointed  lieutenant-colo 
nel,  marched,  in  April,  1754,  for  the  Great  Meadows,  lying 
within  the  disputed  territory.  Hearing  that  the  French  had 
erected  a  fort  at  the  junction  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela, 
he  judged  that  this  was  a  hostile  movement;  and,  availing  him 
self  of  the  offered  guidance  of  Indians,  Washington  marched, 
with  his  detachment,  to  the  Great  Meadows,  where  he  surprised 
a  French  detachment,  and  captured  the  whole  of  it. 

At  the  Great  Meadows,  Washington  built  Fort  Necessity. 
While  he  was  engaged  in  surrounding  it  with  a  ditch,  about 
fifteen  hundred  French  and  Indians,  under  command  of  M.  de 
Villiers,  appeared  and  commenced  a  furious  attack.  The  defence 
was  maintained  with  bravery  from  ten  in  the  morning  until  dark, 
when  De  Villiers  demanded  a  parley,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
night  the  garrison  capitulated.  Washington  and  his  men  were 
permitted  to  march  out  without  molestation,  and  with  the  honors 
of  war.  In  this  attack,  it  is  supposed,  the  French  commander 


THE   SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  119 

lost  two  hundred  men,  killed  and  wounded.  The  loss  of  the 
gallant  garrison  was  only  fifty-eight  men  killed  and  wounded. 

The  English  erected  a  fort  on  Wills'  creek  soon  after  this 
affair,  and  made  extensive  preparations  for  the  struggle  which 
seemed  impending.  A  union  of  the  colonies  was  formed,  for 
purposes  of  offence  and  defence,  and  the  friendship  of  a  portion 
of  the  Six  Nations  secured.  But  the  dissentions  of  the  colonial 
governments  caused  the  union  to  be  rejected,  and  the  war  was 
left  to  the  prosecution  of  the  British  troops  and  such  aid  as  each 
colony  might  choose  to  offer. 

In  the  north,  about  six  hundred  Indians  invaded  Hoosack,  and 
burned  and  plundered  without  mercy.  The  Scatecook  tribe  in 
stigated  the  Orondocks  and  others  to  this  invasion.  Some  of 
their  allies  were  descended  from  the  Connecticut  river  Indians, 
who  were  drawn  from  their  country  in  Philip's  war.  Major 
General  Winslow  had  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  eastern 
tribes  immediately  previous  to  the  invasion. 

Early  in  1755,  General  Braddock,  with  a  respectable  body  of 
British  troops,  arrived  in  America;  and  a  convention  of  the  colo 
nial  governors  was  held  in  Virginia,  at  his  request,  to  fix  the 
plan  of  military  operations.  Three  expeditions  were  designed, 
one  against  Fort  Duquesne,  at  the  junction  of  the  Allegheny  and 
Monongahela,  to  be  conducted  by  General  Braddock ;  the  second, 
an  attempt  on  the  fort  at  Niagara,  to  be  conducted  by  Governor 
Shirley;  and  the  third,  an  attempt  to  capture  Crown  Point,  to 
be  executed  by  the  militia  of  the  northern  colonies. 

General  Braddock  might  have  entered  upon  action  early  in  the 
spring;  but  the  contractors  for  the  army  not  seasonably  provid 
ing  a  sufficient  quantity  of  provisions,  nor  a  competent  number 
of  wagons,  for  the  expedition,  the  troops  could  not  be  put  in  mo 
tion  until  June.  On  the  10th  of  that  month,  the  general  began 
his  march  from  a  post  on  Wills'  creek,  at  the  head  of  about 
twenty-two  hundred  men.  The  additional  delay  that  must  be 
occasioned  in  opening  a  road  through  an  extremely  rough  coun 
try,  with  an  apprehension  of  a  reinforcement  of  Fort  Duquesne, 
induced  a  resolution  to  hasten  the  march  of  a  part  of  the  army 
to  the  point  of  destination.  The  general,  at  the  head  of  twelve 
hundred  men,  selected  from  the  different  corps,  with  ten  pieces 
of  cannon  and  the  necessary  ammunition  and  provisions,  marched 
forward;  leaving  the  residue  of  the  army  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Dunbar,  to  follow,  with  all  the  heavy  baggage,  by  slow 
and  easy  marches.  Such,  however,  were  the  natural  and  neces 
sary  impediments,  that  Braddock  did  not  reach  the  Monongahela 
until  the  8th  of  July.  The  next  day  he  expected  to  invest  Fort 
Duquesne ;  and  in  the  morning  made  a  disposition  of  his  forces 
conformably  to  that  expectation.  His  van,  composed  of  three 


120 


INDIAN  WARS. 


Y-AJ-rriNCTON   ADVISING   BilADIXX'i,    'J?0   SEND   FORWARD   SCOUTS. 

hundred  British  regulars,  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant-colonel 
Gage,  and  he  followed,  at  some  distance,  with  the  artillery  and 
main  body  of  the  army,  divided  into  small  columns. 
^  Colonel  Dunbar  was  then  nearly  forty  miles  behind  him.  This 
circumstance  alone  evidently  required  caution.  But  the  nature 
of  the  country  over  which  the  troops  were  to  be  conducted,  and 
the  character  of  the  enemy  to  be  encountered,  rendered  circum 
spection  indispensably  necessary.  The  general  was  cautioned  by 
Washington,  of  the  sources  of  danger,  and  advised  to  advance  in 
his  front  the  provincial  troops  in  his  army,  consisting  entirely  of 
independent  and  ranging  companies,  to  scour  the  woods  and  guard 
against  an  ambuscade  ;  but  he  thought  too  contemptuously  both 
of  the  enemy  and  of  the  provincials,  to  follow  that  salutary  advice. 
Heedless  of  danger,  he  pressed  forward;  the  distance  of  seven 
miles  still  intervening  between  his  army  and  the  anticipated 
place  of  action.  At  this  unsuspicious  moment,  in  an  open  wood, 
thick  set  with  high  grass,  his  front  was  attacked  by  an  unseen 
enemy.  The  van  was  thrown  into  some  confusion;  but  the 
general  having  ordered  up  the  main  body,  and  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  enemy  having  fallen,  the  attack  was  suspended,  and 
the  assailants  were  supposed  to  be  dispersed.  The  attack,  how 
ever,  was  renewed  with  increased  fury;  the  van  fell  back  on  the 


THE   SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR.  123 

main  body;  and  the  whole  army  was  thrown  into  confusion. 
The  general,  if  deficient  in  other  military  virtues,  was  not  desti 
tute  of  courage;  but,  at  this  embarrassing  moment,  personal 
vaior  afforded  a  very  inadequate  security.  An  instant  retreat, 
or  a  rapid  charge  without  observance  of  military  rules,  seems  to 
have  been  imperatively  necessary;  but  neither  of  these  expe 
dients  was  adopted.  The  general,  under  an  incessant  and  galling 
fire,  made  every  possible  exertion  to  form  his  broken  troops  on 
the  very  ground  where  they  wero  first  attacked;  but  his  efforts 
were  fruitless.  Every  officer  on  horseback,  excepting  Colonel 
Washington,  who  was  aid-de-camp  to  the  commauder-in-chief, 
was  either  killed  or  wounded.  After  an  action  of  three  hours, 
General  Braddock,  under  whom  three  horses  had  been  killed, 
received  a  mortal  wound;  and  his  troops  fled,  in  extreme  dismay 
and  confusion.  The  provincials,  who  were  among  the  last  to 
leave  the  field,  formed  after  the  action  by  the  prudent  valor  of 
Washington,  and  covered  the  retreat  of  the  regulars.  The  defeat 
was  entire.  Of  eighty-five  officers,  sixty-four  were  killed  and 
wounded,  and  about  half  the  privates.  The  defeated  army  fled 
precipitately  to  the  camp  of  Dunbar,  where  Braddock  expired  of 
his  wounds.  The  British  troops  were  soon  after  marched  to 
Philadelphia,  where  they  went  into  winter  quarters. 

In  August  of  this  year,  General  William  Johnson,  with  be 
tween  five  and  six  thousand  men,  English  and  Mohawks,  pro 
ceeded  upon  the  expedition  for  the  reduction  of  Crown  Point. 
Having  pitched  his  camp  at  the  south  end  of  Lake  George,  he 
learned  that  a  large  body  of  French  and  Indians  was  advancing 
towards  him  from  Ticonderoga.  The  Baron  Dieskau,  lately  ap 
pointed  commander  of  the  French  forces,  hearing  of  the  intended 
expedition  against  Crown  Point,  resolved  to  prevent  it  by  a 
counter  movement.  He  embarked  at  Crown  Point,  with  two 
thousand  men,  and  landing  at  South  Bay,  marched  for  Fort  Ed 
ward,  which  had  been  built  by  the  English  a  short  time  previous. 
But  the  Canadians  and  Indians  were  opposed  to  attacking  a  re 
gularly  furnished  fortress,  and  Dieskau  changed  his  route  and 
marched  against  the  camp  of  Johnson.  The  English  general 
heard  of  his  approach,  and  sent  out  Colonel  Ephraim  Williams 
with  twelve  hundred  men,  to  meet  him.  The  baron's  skill  was 
displayed  in  his  arrangement  to  receive  this  detachment.  Keep 
ing  the  regulars  with  him  in  the  centre,  the  Canadians  and  In 
dians  were  ordered  to  advance  through  the  woods  upon  the  right 
and  left,  so  as  to  enclose  the  enemy.  The  Mohawk  scouts  of  the 
English,  prevented  the  full  success  of  this  design;  but,  as  the 
enemy  approached  they  were  so  hotly  received,  and  suffered  such 
a  terrible  loss,  that  they  made  a  precipitate  retreat.  Colonel 


124  , 


INDIAN  WARS. 


BAEON  DIESKAU  TAKEN  PRISONER. 


Williams  was  among  the  slain.  Hendrick,  the  celebrated  Mo 
hawk  chief,  with  a  number  of  his  Indians  died  fighting  bravely. 

After  this  success,  Dieskau  pressed  on  to  encounter  the  main 
body  of  the  English,  who  had  erected  a  breastwork  and  made 
other  preparations  for  an  attack.  .  The  regular  French  troops 
made  the  central  assault  upon  the  breastwork,  and  the  Cana 
dians  and  Indians  attacked  the  flanks.  The  English  determined 
upon  a  desperate  defence;  and  as  soon  as  their  cannon  began  to 
play  upon  the  enemy,  they  forced  the  French  general  to  order  a 
retreat,  and  his  troops  retiring  in  confusion,  were  attacked  in  the 
rear  and  almost  dispersed.  Their  rout  was  completed  by  the 
arrival  of  two  hundred  New  Hampshire  militia,  under  Captain 
McGinnes.  Dieskau,  dangerously  wounded,  was  taken  prisoner. 
Captain  McGinnes  fell  in  the  attack.  This  repulse  revived  the 
spirits  of  the  colonists;  but  the  success  was  not  improved,  and 
Shirley's  expedition  against  Niagara  failed  for  want  of  concert 
and  rapidity  in  making  preparations. 

The  campaign  of  1756  began  with  vigorous  preparations  for 
various  expeditions.  Baron  Dieskau  had  been  succeeded  by  the 
bold  and  skilful  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  whose  movements  antici 
pated  those  of  the  English  generals.  On  the  10th  of  August,  he 


07  WITCH  AND  INDIANS. 


THE   SEVEN  YEARS*  WAR.  127 

approached  Fort  Ontario,  with  more  than  five  thousand  regulars, 
Canadians,  and  Indians.  Having  made  the  necessary  disposi 
tions,  he  opened  the  trenches  on  the  12th,  at  midnight,  with 
thirty-two  pieces  of  cannon,  besides  several  brass  mortars  and 
howitzers.  The  garrison  having  fired  away  all  their  shells  and 
ammunition,  Colonel  Mercer,  the  commanding  officer,  ordered 
the  cannon  to  be  spiked  up,  and  crossed  the  river  to  Little  Os 
wego  Fort,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  The  enemy,  taking 
immediate  possession  of  the  deserted  fort,  began  to  fire  from  it, 
which  was  kept  up  without  intermission.  About  four  miles  and 
a  half  up  the  river  was  Fort  George,  the  defence  of  which  was 
committed  to  Colonel  Schuyler.  On  the  abandonment  of  the 
first  fort  by  Colonel  Mercer,  about  three  hundred  and  seventy  of 
his  men  had  joined  Colonel  Schuyler,  in  the  intention  of  having 
an  intercourse  between  his  fort  and  that  to  which  their  own  com 
mander  retreated ;  but  a  body  of  twenty-five  hundred  Canadians 
and  Indians  boldly  swam  across  the  river,  in  the  night  between 
the  13th  and  14th,  and  cut  off  that  communication.  On  the 
13th,  Colonel  Mercer  was  killed  by  a  cannon  ball.  The  garrison, 
deprived  of  their  commander,  who  was  an  officer  of  courage  and 
experience,  frustrated  in  their  hope  of  aid,  and  destitute  of  a 
cover  to  their  fort,  demanded  a  capitulation  on  the  following  day, 
and  surrendered  as  prisoners  of  war.  They  were  the  regiments 
of  Shirley  and  Pepperell,  and  amounted  to  fourteen  hundred  men. 
The  conditions,  required  and  acceded  to,  were,  that  they  should 
be  exempted  from  plunder;  conducted  to  Montreal;  and  treated 
with  humanity.  No  sooner  was  Montcalm  in  possession  of  the 
two  forts  'at  Oswego,  than,  with  admirable  policy,  he  demolished 
them  in  the  presence  of  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations,  in  whose 
country  they  had  been  erected,  and  whose  jealousy  they  had 
excited.  This  event  entirely  disconcerted  the  English  plan  of 
operations,  and  they  attempted  nothing  further  during  the  year. 
Fort  Granby,  on  the  confines  of  Pennsylvania,  was  surprised 
by  a  party  of  French  and  Indians,  who  made  the  garrison  pri 
soners.  Instead  of  scalping  the  captives,  they  loaded  them  with 
flour,  and  drove  them  into  captivity.  The  Indians  on  the  Ohio 
having  killed  above  one  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  west 
ern  frontiers,  were  soon  chastised  with  military  vengeance.  Co 
lonel  Armstrong,  with  a  party  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  pro 
vincials,  marched  from  Fort  Armstrong,  which  had  been  built 
on  the  Juniata  river,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west  of 
Philadelphia,  to  Kittaning,  an  Indian  town,  the  rendezvous  of 
those  murdering  Indians,  and  destroyed  it.  Captain  Jacobs,  the 
Indian  chief,  defended  himself  through  loop  holes  of  his  log 
house.  The  Indians  refusing  the  quarter  which  was  offered  them, 
Colonel  Armstrong  ordered  their  houses  to  be  set  on  fire;  and 


128 


INDIAN  WAKS. 


MASSACRE  OF  THE  PRISONERS  AT  PORT  WILLIAM  HENRY. 


many  of  the  Indians  were  suffocated  and  burnt;  others  were  shot 
in  attempting  to  reach  the  river.  The  Indian  captain,  his  squaw, 
and  a  boy  called  the  King's  Son,  wore  shot  as  they  were  getting 
out  of  the  window,  and  were  all  scalped.  It  was  computed,  that 
between  thirty  and  forty  Indians  were  destroyed.  Eleven  Eng 
lish  prisoners  were  released. 

Lord  Loudoun,  the  English  commander-in-chief,  made  con 
siderable  exertion  to  raise  a  sufficient  force  to  carry  out  his  de 
signs;  but  he  directed  all  his  disposable  force  against  Louisbourg, 
which  was  found  to  be  almost  impregnable,  while  Montcalm  was 
active  in  another  quarter.  The  general  inefficiency  of  this  com 
mander  was  made  manifest  by  his  career.  Thus  far,  he  had 
effected  nothing. 

The  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  availing  himself  of  the  absence  of 
the  principal  part  of  the  British  force,  advanced  with  an  army  of 
nine  thousand  men,  and  laid  siege  to  Fort  William  Henry.  The 
garrison  at  this  fort  consisted  of  between  two  and  three  thousand 
regulars,  and  its  fortifications  were  strong  and  in  very  good  order. 
For  the  farther  security  of  this  important  post,  General  Webb 
was  stationed  at  Fort  Edward  with  an  army  of  four  thousand 
men.  The  French  commander,  however,  urged  his  approaches 
with  such  vigor,  that,  within  six  days  after  the  investment  of 
the  fort,  Colonel  Monroe,  the  commandant,  after  a  spirited  re 
sistance,  surrendered  by  capitulation.  The  garrison  was  to  be 


THE    SEVEN   YEARS'  WAR.  131 

allowed  the  honors  of  war,  and  to  be  protected  against  the  In 
dians  until  within  the  reach  of  Fort  Edward;  but  no  sooner  had 
the  soldiers  left  the  place,  than  the  Indians  in  the  French  army, 
disregarding  the  stipulation,  fell  upon  them,  and  committed  the 
most  cruel  outrages. 

Whether  Montcalm  could  have  prevented  these  cruelties,  is  a 
question  upon  which  historians  differ.  It  seems  that  the  Indians 
served  in  this  expedition,  on  the  promise  of  plunder ;  and  being 
prevented  from  plundering  by  the  terms  granted  the  garrison, 
they  resolved  to  violate  them.  Accordingly,  they  stripped  the 
unarmed  English,  and  murdered  all  who  made  any  resistance. 
Out  of  two  hundred  men  in  the  New  Hampshire  regiment,  which 
formed  the  rear,  eighty  were  killed  or  taken.  The  acknowledged 
virtues  of  Montcalm  should  create  a  presumption  in  his  favor, 
only  to  be  removed  by  clear  proof  of  his  guilt. 

This  event  aroused  the  colonists  to  fresh  exertions.  The  de 
tails  of  the  massacre  were  exaggerated,  and  the  hatred  of  the 
French  and  their  savage  allies  greatly  increased.  Nineteen  hun 
dred  men,  under  Colonel  Stanwix,  were  ordered  for  the  protec 
tion  of  the  western  frontiers.  Troops  were  raised  in  all  quarters, 
and  early  in  1758,  General  Abercrombie  could  command  the 
services  of  fifty  thousand  men — the  largest  army  yet  seen  in  the 
colonies.  Three  expeditions  were  projected;  one  against  Louis- 
bourg,  another  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  and  the 
third  against  Fort  Duquesne. 

Louisbourg  was  captured  by  the  English  fleet,  under  Admiral 
Boscawen,  and  the  land  force,  under  General  Amherst,  after  a 
seige  extending  from  the  2d  of  June  until  the  26th  of  July.  The 
Chevalier  de  Drucourt,  with  about  three  thousand  men,  de 
fended  the  place  until  it  was  but  a  mass  of  ruins.  This  was  con 
sidered  the  most  important  triumph  of  the  war. 

The  army  destined  for  the  attack  upon  Ticonderoga  and  Crown* 
Point,  consisted  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  attended  by  a  formid 
able  train  of  artillery,  and  was  commanded  by  General  Abercrom 
bie.  Crossing  Lake  George  on  the  5th  of  July,  Abererombie 
directed  his  first  operations  against  Ticonderoga.  In  marching 
through  the  woods,  the  columns  became  entangled  with  each 
other.  Lord  Howe,  at  the  head  of  the  right  centre  column,  fell 
in  with  the  advanced  guard  of  the  enemy,  and  attacked  it  with 
such  vigor  as  to  kill,  capture,  or  disperse  the  whole  of  it.  Lord 
Howe  fell  at  the  first  fire.  An  ill-judged  assault  was  soon  after 
made  upon  Ticonderoga,  but  such  had  been  the  measures  adopted 
by  the  French  and  Indians,  that  the  English  were  repulsed  with 
the  loss  of  twenty-five  hundred  men  killed  and  wounded.  The 
loss  of  the  enemy  was  inconsiderable. 

The  reduction  of  Fort  Duquesne  was  the  next  object  accom- 


132 


INDIAN  WARS. 


GENERAL  ABEECROMBIE'S  ARMY  CROSSING  LAKE  GEORGE. 

plished.  General  Forbes,  to  whom  this  enterprise  was  entrusted, 
had  marched  early  in  July  from  Philadelphia  at  the  head  of  the 
army  destined  for  the  expedition;  but,  such  delays  were  expe 
rienced,  it  was  not  until  September  that  the  Virginia  regulars, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Washington,  were  commanded  to  join 
the  British  troops  at  Ray's  town.  Before  the  army  was  put  in 
motion,  Major  Grant  was  detached  with  eight  hundred  men, 
partly  British  and  partly  provincials,  to  reconnoitre  the  fort  and 
the  adjacent  country.  Having  invited  an  attack  from  the  French 
garrison,  this  detachment  was  surrounded  by  the  enemy ^and 
after  a  brave  defence,  in  which  three  hundred  men  were  killed 
and  wounded,  Major  Grant  and  nineteen  other  officers  were  taken 
prisoners.  General  Forbes  with  the  main  army,  amounting  to 
at  least  eight  thousand  men,  at  length  moved  forward  from  Hay's 
town;  but  did  not  reach  Fort  Duquesne  until  late  in  November. 
On  the  evening  preceding  his  arrival,  the  French  garrison,  de 
serted  by  their  Indians,  and  unequal  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
place  against  so  formidable  an  army,  had  abandoned  the  fort,  and 
escaped  in  boats  down  the  Ohio.  The  English  now  took  posses 
sion  of  that  important  fortress,  and,  in  compliment  to  the  popular 
minister,  called  it  Pittsburg.  No  sooner  was  the  British  flag 
erected  on  it,  than  the  numerous  tribes  of  the  Ohio  Indians  came 
in;  and  made  tkeir  submission  to  the  English.  General  Forbes, 


THE   SEVEN  YEARS  WAR.  133 


GENERAL  PUTNAM. 


having  concluded  treaties  with  those  natives,  left  a  garrison  of 
provincials  in  the  fort,  and  built  a  blockhouse  near  Loyal  Han- 
nan  ;  but,  worn  out  with  fatigue,  he  died  before  he  could  reach 
Philadelphia. 

While  the  entrenchments  of  Abercrombie  enclosed  him  in 
security,  M.  de  Montcalm  was  active  in  harrassing  the  frontiers, 
and  in  detaching  parties  to  attack  the  convoys  of  the  English. 
Two  or  three  convoys  having  been  cut  off  by  these  parties,  Major 
Rogers  and  Major  Putnam  made  excursions  from  Lake  George  to 
intercept  them.  The  enemy,  apprized  of  their  movements,  had 
sent  out  the  French  partizan  Molang,  who  had  laid  an  ambuscade 
for  them  in  the  woods.  While  proceeding  in  single  file  in  three 
divisions,  as  Major  Putnam,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  first, 
was  coming  out  of  a  thicket,  the  enemy  rose,  and  with  discordant 
yells  and  whoops  attacked  the  right  of  his  division.  Surprised, 
but  not  dismayed,  he  halted,  returned  the  fire,  and  passed  the 
word  for  the  other  divisions  to  advance  for  his  support.  Perceiv 
ing  it  would  be  impracticable  to  cross  the  creek,  he  determined 
to  maintain  his  ground.  The  officers  and  men,  animated  by  his 
example,  behaved  with  great  bravery.  Putnam's  fusee  at  length 
missing  fire,  while  the  muzzle  was  presented  against  the  breast 


134  INDIAN  WARS. 

of  a  large  and  well  proportioned  Indian;  this  warrior,  with  a  tre 
mendous  war  whoop,  instantly  sprang  forward  with  his  lifted 
hatchet,  and  compelled  him  to  surrender,  and,  having  disarmed 
him  and  bound  him  fast  to  a  tree,  returned  to  the  battle.  The 
enemy  were  at  last  driven  from  the  field,  leaving  their  dead 
behind  them;  Putnam  was  untied  by  the  Indian  who  had  made 
him  prisoner,  and  carried  to  the  place  where  they  were  to  encamp 
that  night.  Besides  many  outrages,  they  inflicted  a  deep  wound 
with  a  tomahawk  upon  his  left  cheek.  It  being  determined  to 
roast  him  alive,  they  led  him  into  a  dark  forest,  stripped  him 
naked,  bound  him  to  a  tree,  piled  combustibles  at  a  small  dis 
tance  in  a  circle  round  him,  and,  with  horrid  screams,  set  the 
piles  on  fire.  In  the  instant  of  an  expected  immolation,  Molang 
rushed  through  the  crowd,  scattered  the  burning  brands,  and  un 
bound  the  victim.  The  next  day  Major  Putnam  was  allowed 
his  moccasins,  and  permitted  to  march  without  carrying  any 
pack;  at  night  the  party  arrived  at  Ticonderoga,  and  the  prisoner 
was  placed  under  the  care  of  a  French  guard.  After  having 
been  examined  by  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  he  was  conducted 
to  Montreal  by  a  French  officer,  who  treated  him  with  the  greatest 
indulgence  and  humanity.  The  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac 
affording  occasion  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  Major  Putnam 
was  set  at  liberty. 

During  these  important  military  operations,  the  French  incited 
the  eastern  Indians  to  begin  hostilities,  but  their  attacks  were 
repulsed,  by  the  vigilance  and  activity  of  Governor  Pownall. 
The  governors  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  with  Sir  Wil 
liam  Johnston^  and  other  agents,  concluded  a  treaty  in  October, 
with  nearly  all  the  powerful  tribes  of  the  territory  between  the 
Apalachian  mountains  and  the  lakes.  As  the  French  depended 
upon  the  support  of  these  Indians;  to  maintain  their  western  gar 
risons,  this  treaty  weakened  them  so  much,  that  they  succes 
sively  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 

In  1759,  General  Amherst  succeeded  Abercrombie  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  English  forces.  The  great  project  of  the 
immediate  conquest  of  Canada  was  then  formed.  Three  power 
ful  armies,  under  the  command  of  Amherst,  Wolfe,'  and  Prideaux, 
were  to  enter  Canada  about  the  same  time.  We  shall  not  detail 
the  events  which  led  to  the  execution  of  the  plans  of  the  Eng 
lish.  The  Indians  were  employed  by  the  French  up  to  the  latest 
hour  of  their  authority  in  North  America;  and  the  English  also 
secured  the  services  of  a  strong  body  of  them,  to  form  part  of  the 
army  of  General  Prideaux. 

In  prosecution  of  the  enterprise  against  Niagara,  General  Pri 
deaux  had  embarked  with  an  army  on  Lake  Ontario;  and  on  the 
6th  of  July,  landed  without  opposition  within  about  three  miles 


THE   SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR.  137 

from  the  fort,  which  he  invested  in  form.  While  directing  the 
operations  of  the  siege,  he  was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  cohorn, 
and  the  command  devolved  on  Sir  William  Johnson.  That  gen 
eral,  prosecuting  with  judgment  and  vigor  the  plan  of  his  prede 
cessor,  pushed  the  attack  of  Niagara  with  such  intrepidity,  as 
goon  brought  the  besiegers  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  covered 
way.  Meanwhile,  the  French,  alarmed  at  the  danger  of  losing 
a  post,  which  was  a  key  to  their  interior  empire  in  America,  had 
collected  a  large  body  of  regular  troops,  from  the  neighboring 
garrisons  of  Detroit,  Venango,  and  Presque  Isle,  with  which  and 
a  party  of  Indians  they  resolved,  if  possible,  to  raise  the  siege. 
Apprized  of  their  intention  to  hazard  a  battle,  General  Johnson 
ordered  his  light  infantry,  supported  by  some  grenadiers  and 
regular  foot,  to  take  post  between  the  cataract  of  Niagara  and 
the  fortress;  placed  the  auxiliary  Indians  on  his  flanks;  and, 
together  with  this  preparation  for  an  engagement,  took  effectual 
measures  for  securing  his  lines,  and  bridling  the  garrison.  About 
nine  in  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  July,  the  enemy  appeared, 
and  the  horrible  sound  of  the  war  whoop  from  the  hostile  Indians 
was  the  signal  of  battle.  The  French  charged  with  great  im 
petuosity,  but  were  received  with  firmness;  and  in  less  than  an 
hour  were  completely  routed.  This  battle  decided  the  fate  of 
Niagara.  Sir  William  Johnson,  the  next  morning,  sent  a  trum 
pet  to  the  French  commandant;  and  in  a  few  hours  a  capitula 
tion  was  signed.  The  garrison,  consisting  of  six  hundred  and 
seven  men,  were  to  march  out  with  the  honors  of  war,  to  be  em 
barked  on  the  lake,  and  carried  to  New  York;  and  the  women 
and  children  were  to  be  carried  to  Montreal.  The  reduction  of 
Niagara  effectually  cut  off  the  communication  between  Canada 
and  Louisiana. 

At  this  last  period  of  the  war,  the  St.  Francis  Indians  suffered 
severely  for  their  cruelty  and  perfidy.  This  tribe  was  notoriously 
attached  to  the  French,  and  had,  for  near  a  century,  harrassed 
the  frontiers  of  New  England,  barbarously  and  indiscriminately 
killing  persons  of  all  ages  and  of  each  sex,  when  there  was  not 
the  least  suspicion  of  their  approach.  Captain  Kennedy,  having 
been  sent  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  these  Indians,  was  made  a  pri 
soner  by  them,  with  his  whole  party.  To  chastise  them  for  this 
outrage,  General  Amherst  ordered  Major  Robert  Rogers  to  take 
a  detachment  of  two  hundred  men,  and  proceed  to  Misisque  bay, 
and  to  march  thence  and  attack  their  settlements  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  In  pursuance  of  these  orders, 
he  set  out  on  the  13th  of  September  with  the  detachment  for  St. 
Francis,  and  on  the  twenty-second  day  after  his  departure,  in  the 
evening,  he  came  in  sight  of  the  Indian  town  St.  Francis.  At 
eight  in  the  evening,  he,  with  a  lieutenant  and  ensign,  recon- 


138 


INDIAN  WARS. 


noitred  the  town;  and,  finding  the  Indians  "in  a  high  frolic  or 
dance,"  returned  to  his  party  at  two,  and  at  three  marched  it 
within  five  hundred  yards  of  the  town,  where  he  lightened  the 
men  of  their  packs,  and  formed  them  for  the  attack  At  half  an 
hour  before  sunrise  he  surprised  the  town,  when  the  Indians  were 
all  fast  asleep,  and  destroyed  most  of  them.  A  few,  who  were 
making  their  escape  by  taking  to  the  water,  were  pursued,  and 
both  they  and  their  boats  were  sunk.  A  little  after  sunrise, 
Major  Koberts  set  fire  to  all  their  houses,  except  three,  in  which 
there  was  corn,  which  he  reserved  for  the  use  of  his  men.  A 
number  of  Indians,  who  had  concealed  themselves  in  the  cellars 
and  lofts  of  their  houses,  were  consumed  in  the  fire.  By  about 
seven  in  the  morning,  the  affair  was  completed.  Two  hundred 
Indians,  at  least,  were  killed,  and  twenty  of  their  women  and 
children  taken  prisoners.  Five  only  of  the  last,  two  Indian  boys 
and  three  Indian  girls,  Rogers  brought  away,  leaving  the  re"st 
to  their  liberty.  He  likewise  retook  five  English  captives,  whom 
he  also  took  under  his  care.  Of  his  party,  Captain  Ogden  was 
badly  wounded,  six  men  were  slightly  wounded,  and  one  Stock- 
bridge  Indian  was  killed. 

The  war  was  virtually  concluded  by  the  fall  of  Quebec,  in 
1759.  The  Indians  knew  their  weakness,  and  would  not  maj'n- 
tain  a  contest  against  the  overpowering  force  the  English  now 
had  in  the  field,  and,  therefore,  the  greater  portion  of  them  came 
and  made  peace,  or  according  to  their  own  expressien,  "buried 
the  hatchet." 


.:.:->: 


:    g 

'  -  •=' 


CHAPTER    XL 

THE  WAR  BETWEEN  THE  COLONIES  AND  THE  WESTERN  INDIANS, 
FROM  1763  TO  1765.  . 

A  STRUGGLE  began  in  1760,  in  which  the  English  had  to 
contend  with  a  more  powerful  Indian  enemy  than  any  they  had 
yet  encountered.  Pontiac,  a  chief  renowned  both  in  America 
and  Europe,  as  a  brave  and  skilful  warrior,  and  a  far-sighted  and 
active  ruler,  was  at  the  head  of  all  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  great 
lakes.  Among  these  were  the  Ottawas,  Miamis,  Chippewas,  Wy- 
andotts,  Pottawatomies,  Winebagoes,  Shawanese,  Ottagamies, 


and  Mississagas. 


(139) 


140  INDIAN   WARS. 

After  the  capture  of  Quebec,  in  1760,  Major  Rodgers  was  sent 
into  the  country  of  Pontiac  to  drive  the  French  from  it.  Ap 
prized  of  his  approach,  Pontiac  sent  ambassadors  to  inform  him 
that  their  chief  was  not  far  off,  and  desired  him  to  halt  until  he 
could  see  him  "with  his  own  eyes." 

When  Pontiac  met  the  English  officer,  he  demanded  to  know 
the  business  which  had  brought  him  into  his  country,  and  how 
he  dared  to  enter  it  without  his  permission.  The  major  told 
him  he  had  no  designs  against  the  Indians,  but  only  wished  to 
expel  the  French;  and  at  the  same  time,  he  delivered  him  several 
belts  of  wampum.  Pontiac  replied,  "I  stand  in  the  path  you 
travel  until  to-morrow  morning,"  and  gave  the  major  a  belt. 
This  communication  was  understood  to  mean,  that  the  intruder 
was  not  to  march  further  without  his  leave.  Next  day,  the  Eng 
lish  detachment  was  plentifully  supplied  with  provisions  by  the 
Indians,  and  Pontiac  giving  the  commander  the  pipe  of  peace, 
assured  him  that  he  might  pass  through  his  country  unmolested, 
and  that  he  would  protect  him  and  his  party.  As  an  earnest  of 
his  friendship,  he  sent  one  hundred  warriors  to  aid  in  driving  the 
cattle  belonging  to  the  party,  and  then  accompanied  the  major  as 
far  as  Detroit,  effectually  securing  him  from  the  fury  of  the  In 
dians  who  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  French. 

The  northwestern  tribes  retained  a  hatred  of  the  English  after 
the  fall  of  the  French  power  in  America;  and  Pontiac' s  schemes 
received  the  ready  support  of  these  hardy  warriors.  Concealing 
his  enmity  until  he  had  united  these  tribes,  and  arranged  his 
system  of  warfare,  Pontiac  completely  deceived  the  English  into 
a  feeling  of  security.  In  his  transactions  during  the  war,  he  dis 
played  his  superiority  over  all  other  Indian  chiefs.  He  appointed 
a  commissary,  and  issued  bills  of  credit,  all  of  which  he  carefully 
redeemed.  These  bills  were  made  of  bark,  on  which  was  drawn 
the  article  wanted,  with  the  figure  of  an  otter,  the  insignia  of 
the  Ottawas.  Pontiac  also  endeavored  to  prevent  his  people  from 
using  European  commodities  and  having  intercourse  with  the 
whites.  In  1763,  Major  Kodgers  sent  a  bottle  of  brandy  to  him, 
which  his  counsellors  advised  him  not  to  drink.  But  with  true 
greatness  he  exclaimed,  "  It  is  not  in  his  power  to  kill  him  who 
has  so  lately  saved  his  life." 

Several  traders  brought  news  to  the  fort  at  Michilimackinak 
that  the  Indians  meditated  hostilities;  but  Major  Etherington, 
who  was  commander  of  the  garrison,  would  believe  nothing  of  it. 
Nor  were  any  precautions  taken  when  about  four  hundred  In 
dians,  apparently  with  friendly  intent,  assembled  in  the  vicinity. 
On  the  4th  of  June,  the  Indians,  as  if  for  amusement,  began  to 
play  a  game  at  ball.  Such  was  the  exciting  character  of  the 
game,  that  a  number  of  the  garrison  went  out  to  see  it.  Sud- 


OF   THE   COLONIES  AND  WESTERN  INDIANS.      143 

denly,  the  ball  was  thrown  over  the  stockade,  as  if  by  accident, 
and  the  Indians  rushing  in  for  it,  completely  surprised  the  gar 
rison  and  took  possession  of  the  fort.  Seventy  of  the  soldiers 
were  butchered,  and  the  other  twenty  reserved  for  slaves.  A  few 
days  after,  a  boat  from  Montreal,  with  English  passengers,  came 
ashore,  and  all  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  wily  Indians. 

Within  fifteen  days  after  taking  Michilimakinak,  Pontiac  was 
in  possession  of  all  the  western  garrisons  except  three.  This 
alone  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  perfection  of  Pontiac's  plans 
and  the  rapidity  of  their  execution.  Detroit  alone  remained  in 
the  distant  region  of  the  northwest,  and  this,  as  will  be  shown, 
was  brought  to  the  verge  of  destruction. 

Before  the  news  of  the  massacre  of  Michilimakinak  could  reach 
the  garrison  at  Detroit,  that  place  was  closely  besieged  by  the 
Indians,  under  the  personal  direction  of  their  great  chief.  The 
garrison  consisted  of  three  hundred  men,  under  Major  Glad  win. 
When  Pontiac  and  his  warriors  came,  although  in  great  num 
bers,  they  were  so  intermixed  with  women  and  children,  and 
brought  so  many  articles  of  trade,  that  suspicion  was  lulled. 
Pontiac  encamped  at  some  distance  from  the  fort,  and  sent  to 
Major  Glad  win,  to  inform  him  that  he  had  come  to  trade,  and 
wished  to  hold  a  talk  with  him,  to  "brighten  the  chain  of  peace" 
between  the  English  and  the  Indians.  The  major  readily  con 
sented,  and  the  next  morning  was  fixed  for  the  conference. 

The  same  evening,  a  circumstance  transpired  which  saved  the 
garrison  from  a  dreadful  massacre.  When  the  fort  was  clear  of 
strangers,  an  Indian  woman  was  found  loitering,  and  being  asked 
what  she  wanted,  made  no  reply.  The  major,  informed  of  her 
singular  demeanor,  directed  her  to  be  conducted  into  his  presence. 
When  she  was  brought  to  him,  her  answers  were  so  confused  and 
unsatisfactory,  that  the  major  suspected  she  had  something  to 
communicate  but  was  restrained  by  her  fears.  Being  assured  of 
his  protection,  she  told  him  that  the  chiefs  who  were  to  meet 
him  in  council  next  day,  had  formed  a  plan  to  murder  him  and 
the  garrison,  #nd  take  possession  of  the  fort;  that  each  chief 
would  come  to  the  council  with  his  gun  under  his  blanket,  and 
when  Pontiac  gave  the  signal,  which  was  the  delivery  to  the 
major  of  a  belt  of  wampum,  they  were  to  begin  their  work. 

Having  thus  a  full  knowledge  of  the  plot,  Major  Glad  win  had 
every  precaution  taken  to  put  the  garrison  in  the  best  possible 
state  for  defence.  At  the  appointed  hour  of  ten  o'clock,  the 
next  morning,  Pontiac  and  his  chiefs,  and  a  train  of  warriors  en 
tered  the  fort.  The  gates  were  then  closed.  The  vigilant  eye 
of  the  Indian  chief  discovered  an  unusual  degree  of  activity 
among  the  garrison,  but  his  fears  were  somewhat  quieted  by 
being  informed  that  the  men  were  exercising.  The  council 


144  INDIAN   WARS 

opened,  and  Pontiac  commenced  his  speech.  When  he  came  to 
the  signal  of  presenting  the  belt,  the  peculiar  attitudes  of  the 
officers  and  men  told  the  chief  that  his  plot  was  discovered.  The 
belt  was  not  given,  and  Pontiac  closed  his  speech  with  many  pro 
fessions  of  respect  and  affection  for  the  English.  Major  Gladwin 
then  reproached  the  chief  with  his  treachery,  and  told,  him  that 
he  knew  his  whole  diabolical  plot.  Pontiac  made  an  effort  to 
excuse  himself  and  deny  that  he  had  intended  any  injury;  but 
the  major  stepped  to  the.  chief  nearest  himself,  pulled  aside  his 
blanket,  and  exposed  the  gun,  thus  completing  the  confusion  of 
the  Indians.  They  were  then  ordered  to  leave  the  fort. 

The  next  day  a  furious  attack  was  made.  Every  stratagem 
was  used  by  the  savages,  but  all  were  defeated  by  the  resolution 
of  the  garrison.  Finding  their  efforts  vain,  they  relinquished  the 
attack;  but  blockaded  the  fort,  cut  off  its  supplies,  and  reduced 
the  garrison  to  the  greatest  distress.  Several  small  vessels,  ap 
proaching  to  relieve  the  besieged,  were  seized  by  the  Indians 
and  their  crews  cruelly  treated. 

In  consequence  of  the  great  extent  of  country  between  Detroit 
and  the  other  western  posts,  there  was  much  difficulty  encoun 
tered  in  sending  relief  to  the  garrison.  But  Captain  Dalyell, 
with  a  considerable  body  of  men,  succeeded  in  reaching  it  on  the 
29th  of  July,  1763.  Shortly  after,  Dalyell,  with  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  went  out  of  the  fort  with  the  object  of 
surprising  Pontiac  in  his  camp;  but  the  chief  had  timely  notice, 
and  concealing  a  superior  force  behind  a  picket  fence,  near  a 
bridge,  over  which  the  English  were  to  pass,  poured  upon  them 
a  dreadful  fire.  After  a  short  action,  the  detachment  retreated 
to  the  fort,  having  lost  sixty-one  men,  including  Captain  Dalyell. 

The  siege  of  Detroit  was  continued  twelve  months — being  the 
longest  regular  siege  the  Indians  ever  maintained.  The  fame  of 
Pontiac  had  now  reached  Europe,  and  the  British  government 
made  extensive  preparations  to  crush  the  power  of  the  Indians. 
Aware  that  General  Bradstreet  was  marching  to  relieve  Detroit, 
with  a  large  force,  Poutiac  raised  the  siege  and  sued  for  peace, 
which  the  English  were  glad  to  grant.  It  may  be  proper  here 
to  state  the  after  career  of  the  greatest  of  Indian  chiefs.  He 
maintained  the  peace  with  the  English  faithfully  until  his  death. 
When  the  American  revolution  broke  out,  Pontiac  wished  to 
take  part  with  the  Americans;  but  was  prevented  by  Governor 
Hamilton,  of  Detroit.  During  the  war,  he  went  into  Illinois 
to  an  Indian  council  there,  and  the  English,  suspecting  his  in 
tentions  were  hostile  to  them,  employed  an  Indian  as  a  spy  upon 
him.  In  the  council  he  made  a  speech  unfriendly  to  the  Eng 
lish,  and  the  Indian  stabbed  him  to  the  heart.  Thus  fell  a  man 
with  the  true  commanding  spirit — daring,  persevering,  and  saga- 


BOUQUET. 


10 


OF   TEE   COLONIES  AND  WESTERN   INDIANS.      147 

cicas.  Among  his  own  race,  Pontiac  was  a  warrior  whose  name 
was  synonymous  with  success.  His  fertility  of  stratagem  was 
only  equalled  by  his  firm  courage.  In  short,  he  possessed  most 
of  those  qualities  which  make  men  great,  cither  among  savage  or 
civilized  nations. 

While  Pontiac  and  his  warriors  were  contending  with  the  Eng 
lish  in  Michigan,  all  the  tribes  in  the  western  part  of  Pennsyl 
vania  and  along  the  Ohio,  were  active  in  their  operations  against 
the  common  enemy.  The  Delawares  and  the  Shawnese  were  the 
leading  tribes  in  this  quarter.  When  Detroit  was  besieged  bv 
the  Oftawas,  Fort  Pitt  and  Niagara,  which  were  furnished  with 
numerous  garrisons,  well  provided,  expected  the  same  fate.  Ni 
agara  was  not  attacked;  and  Fort  Pitt,  commanded  by  Captain 
linger,  resisted  all  the  efforts  of  the  Delawares.  A  body  of 
troops  under  Colonel  Bouquet,  was  sent  to  the  assistance  of  this 
place.  Proceeding  by  forced  marches,  he  gained  the  valley  of 
the  Bushy  Run.  The  defiles  appeared  to  be  free.  But  on  the 
5th  of  August,  1763,  the  English  were  suddenly  surrounded  by 
swarms  of  Indians,  who  assailed  them  on  all  sides  in  this  narrow 
passage.  The  Indian  mode  of  fighting  gave  them  a  great  ad 
vantage  in  this  woody  country.  In  this  series  of  skirmishes, 
which  began  about  mid-day,  the  English  succeeded  in  repulsing 
every  attack  of  their  foes,  and  drove  them  from  all  their  posi 
tions.  But  the  next  morning,  they  renewed  the  attack  with  a 
much  larger  force.  The  English  commander  then  determined  to 
bring  the  Indians  to  a  decisive  battle,  if  possible. 

When  the  attack  commenced,  Bouquet  ordered  the  centre  line 
to  fall  back,  in  order  to  draw  the  savages  into  an  attack  upon  this 
point  alone.  The  right  and  left  wings  then  retreated  into  the 
underwood  and  formed  an  ambuscade  on  each  side.  The  Indians 
rushed  into  the  passage  thus  opened  for  them,  full  of  the  belief 
that  their  enemies  were  nearly  defeated;  but,  suddenly,  the  am 
buscade  troops  appeared  on  their  flanks  and  rushed  upon  them 
with  such  force  that  they  were  almost  annihilated.  A  great  num 
ber  of  Indians  perished  in  these  two  days'  contests,  but  the 
number  was  not  accurately  known.  This  was  their  last  attempt 
to  obstruct  the  progress  of  Colonel  Bouquet's  forces,  and  after  a 
fatiguing,  rapid  march,  he  arrived  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  compelled 
the  Indians  to  raise  the  siege.  Not  having  enough  troops  to 
pursue  them  to  the  forests  of  Ohio,  Bouquet  returned  to  go  into 
winter  quarters  in  Pennsylvania. 

After  raising  the  siege  of  Fort  Pitt,  the  Indians  retreated  as 
far  as  the  Muskingum.  There  they  collected  their  forces,  at 
tached  new  tribes  to  their  confederacy,  and  made  every  prepara 
tion  for  renewing  the  struggle  in  the  spring.  But  all  their  de 
signs  were  destined  to  be  crushed  in  the  bud.  General  Gage 


148 


INDIAN  WARS 


THE  CONFERENCE. 


became  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces  in  the  colonies, 
and  prepared  two  expeditions  against  them.  One  body  of  troops, 
under  Colonel  Bradstreet,  proceeded  against  the  Ottawas,  the 
Wyandotts,  Chippewas,  and  other  tribes  near  the  great  lakes. 
Another  under  Colonel  Bouquet,  was  to  attack  the  tribes  between 
the  great  lakes  and  the  Ohio. 

Bradstreet  proceeded  by  rapid  marches  to  Sandusky,  and  soon 
captured  all  the  northwestern  forts  which  the  Indians  had  taken 
from  the  English.  As  before  related,  Pontiac  then  sued  for  peace. 
The  other  expedition  was  delayed  until  late  in  August,  and 
Colonel  Bouquet  did  not  arrive  at  Pittsburg  until  the  17th  of 
.September,  1767.  Apprehending  their  danger,  the  Indians  of 
Ohio  were  anxious  for  peace ;  but  their  terms  were  so  ambiguous, 
that  Bouquet  thought  it  necessary  to  penetrate  farther  into  their 
country,  and,  accordingly,  he  proceeded  as  far  as  the  Muskingum. 

The  Indians,  not  being  able  to  check  his  passage,  demanded 
that  a  conference  should  be  held  on  the  18th  of  October.  Bou 
quet  with  an  efficient  force,  proceeded  to  the  place  appointed,  and 
the  chiefs  of  the  Delawares,  Shawanese,  and  Senecas  appeared' 
with  their  principal  warriors.  The  colonel  informed  them  that 
peace  would  not  be  granted  unless  they  would  deliver  to  him  all 
prisoners  whom  they  held  in  possession.  This  was  to  be  done 
within  twelve  days.  On  the  first  day,  the  Delawares  delivered 
eighteen  whites,  and  collected  a  bundle  of  sticks  to  signify 
that  they  had  eighty-three  more,  who  were  then  absent.  The 
Shawanese  refused  to  make  such  an  engagement,  until  Colonel 
Bouquet  advanced  into  their  country  as  far  as  the  Sciota;  they 
then  agreed  to  the  demand. 


OF   THE   COLONIES  AND  WESTERN   INDIANS.      149 

On  the  9th  of  November,  two  hundred  and  six  English  pri 
soners  were  brought  into  camp;  and  on  the  same  day,  another 
conference  was  held,  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace.  Even  in 
defeat,  the  Shawanese  retained  all  their  pride  and  spirit,  declar 
ing  that  they  only  gave  up  the  war  in  commiseration  of  their 
wives  and  children.  The  arrival  of  the  prisoners  in  camp 
afforded  a  very  affecting  scene.  There  was  the  meeting  of  father 
and  child,  husband  and  wife,  brothers  and  sisters.  Some  looked 
for  those  they  had  lost,  but  they  were  not  there,  and  the  full 
heart  prevented  them  from  asking  for  them.  The  Indians  de 
livered  their  captives  with  great  regret,  having  become  attached 
to  them,  and  looking  upon  them  as  their  own  people.  Many  of 
the  captives  had  adopted  the  Indian  mode  of  life,  and  did  not 
seem  anxious  to  give  it  up.  A  few  afterwards  escaped  from  the 
settlements  and  returned  to  the  Indians. 

Having  accomplished  its  design,  the  army  proceeded  home 
ward,  and  reached  Pittsburg  on  the  28th  of  November.  Colonel 
Bouquet  returned  to  Philadelphia  in  January,  1765,  where  the 
representatives  of  Pennsylvania  tendered  him  and  his  soldiers 
thanks  for  their  services.  The  same  was  done  by  the  represen 
tatives  of  Virginia;  and  George  III.,  of  England,  appointed  the 
colonel  a  brigadier-general,  and  gave  him  the  command  of  his 
armies  in  the  southern  provinces. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CRESAP'S   WAR. 

WE  now  come  to  a  war  in  which  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of 
Indian  chiefs  bore  the  most  prominent  part.  Logan  was  a  Mingo 
chief,  whose  father,  Shikellinus,  was  a  chief  of  the  Cayugas.  He 
derived  his  name  from  the  attachment  which  had  existed  between 
the  benevolent  James  Logan  and  his  father.  In  true  greatness 
of  soul  few  have  surpassed  Logan,  and  his  misfortunes  have  ex 
cited  much  sympathy  among  all  capable  of  appreciating  them  or 
him. 

In  the  spring  of  1774,  a  party  of  Indians  robbed  some  whites 
who  were  preparing  to  settle  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  The 
whites,  considering  this  an  indication  of  hostile  intentions,  assem 
bled  at  a  place  on  Wheeling  creek.  Captain  Michael  Cresap,  at 
the  head  of  the  party,  proceeded  to  attack  a  party  of  Indians  on 
the  Ohio  river,  and,  by  professing  friendly  intentions,  completely 
surprised  them.  Several  were  slain ;  and  among  them  were  some 
of  the  family  of  Logan.  Soon  after  this  affair,  another  party  of 
these  borderers,  with  Daniel  Greathouse  at  their  head,  attacked 
a  company  of  Indians  about  thirty  miles  above  Wheeling.  Many 
of  them  were  murdered,  under  circumstances  which  aggravated 
the  crime.  A  brother  and  sister  of  Logan  were  among  the  vic 
tims.  (May  24th,  1674.)  Logan  returning  from  a  hunting  ex- 
(150) 


OF   CRESAP.  153 

cursion  to  his  home,  finding  the  remains  of  his  murdered  rela 
tives,  vowed  revenge.  The  consequence  was  a  war,  in  which 
little  mercy  was  shown  upon  either  side. 

TLe  Shawanese,  Delawares,  and  many  other  tribes  were  united 
for  the  contest.  Cornstalk  was  the  great  commander  upon  the 
side  of  the  Indians ;  but  Logan  and  Red  Eagle  displayed  their 
bravery  in  an  equal  manner.  On  the  12th  of  July,  Logan,  at 
the  head  of  only  eight  warriors,  attacked  some  settlers  upon  the 
Muskingum,  killed  one  man,  and  captured  two  others,  one  whom 
afterwards  became  his  secretary.  When  the  news  of  the  Indian 
depredations  reached  the  seat  of  government  of  Yirginia,  Gover 
nor  Dunmore  immediately  ordered  out  the  militia,  to  the  number 
of  three  thousand  men,  half  of  whom,  under  Colonel  Andrew 
Lewis,  marched  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanhawa,  while 
the  governor  himself  with  the  remainder,  inarched  against  the 
Indian  towns  on  the  Ohio. 

The  division  under  Colonel  Lewis,  met  with  no  opposition- until 
it  arrived  at  Point  Pleasant  on  the  Great  Kanhawa,  where  about 
fifteen  hundred  Indians  under  the  chief  command  of  Cornstalk 
were  drawn  up  for  battle.  A  detachment  of  three  hundred  men 
first  fell  in  with  them,  and  was  defeated  with  great  slaughter;  but 
the  other  divisions  coming  up,  the  conflict  became  obstinate  and 
bloody,  and  was  maintained  during  the  whole  day.  As  night 
closed  upon  the  battle,  the  Indians  slowly  retreated,  without 
being  pursued.  There  is  much  difference  in  the  statements  of 
the  loss  of  the  English  and  Indians  in  this  well  fought  battle. 
From  the  Indian  custom  of  carrying  off  the  dead,  it  is  impossible 
to  give  an  accurate  account  of  their  killed  and  wounded.  Thirty- 
three  bodies  were  found  upon  the  field.  The  loss  of  the  English 
is  stated  to  have  been  fifty-five  killed  and  eighty-seven  wounded. 

After  the  battle,  the  English  force  encamped  on  a  plain  eight 
miles  from  Chilicothe,  a  place  appointed  for  meeting  the  chiefs 
in  order  to  negotiate  a  peace.  Three  days  after,  Cornstalk  and 
eight  other  chiefs,  came  to  the  encampment,  and  in  the  confer 
ence  which  ensued,  both  parties  charged  each  other  with  breach 
of  treaties  and  injuries  committed  by  their  respective  countr}r- 
nicn.  At  length  a  treaty  was  concluded.  Logan  would  not 
meet  the  whites  in  council,  although  he  desired  peace.  He  re 
mained  in  his  cabin  in  sullen  silence,  until  a  messenger  was  sent 
to  him,  to  know  whether  he  wouldi accede  to  the  proposals.  It 
was  then  he  delivered  his  famous  speech,  which  was  in  substance 
as  follows : 

"I  appeal  to  any  white  man  to  say,  if  ever  he  entered  Logan's 
cabin  hungry,  and  he  gave  him  not  meat;  if  ever  he  came  cold 
and  naked  and  he  clothed  him  not. 

"During  the  course  of  the  last  long  bloody  war,  Logan  re- 


154  INDIAN  WARS 

mained  idle  in  his  cabin,  an  advocate  for  peace.  Such  was  mv 
love  for  the  whites,  that  iny  countrymen  pointed  as  they  passed", 
and  said,  i Logan  is  the  friend  of  white  men/ 

"I  had  even  thought  to  have  lived  with  you,  but  for  the  inju 
ries  of  one  man.  Colonel  Cresap,  the  last  spring,  in  cold  blood, 
and  unprovoked,  murdered  all  the  relations  of  Logan;  not  even 
sparing  my  women  and  children. 

"  There  runs  not  a  drop  of  my  blood  in  the  veins  of  any  living 
creature.  This  called  on  me  for  revenge.  I  have  sought  it.  I 
have  killed  many.  I  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance.  For  my 
country,  I  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peace.  But  do  not  harbor  a 
thought  that  mine  is  the  joy  of  fear.  Logan  never  felt  fear.  He 
will  not  turn  on  his  heel  to  save  his  life.  Who  is  there  to  mourn 
for  Logan  ? — Not  one  I" 

Not  long  after  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  Logan  was  cruellv 
murdered  as  he  was  on  his  way  home  from  Detroit.  His  great 
ness  was  obscured  previous  to  his  death  by  the  habits  of  constant 
intoxication  which  he  had  contracted — perhaps,  says  the  voice-  of 
sympathy,  to  ^  drown  his  sorrow."  Cornstalk,  his  great  com 
patriot,  with  his  valiant  son,  Ellinipnis,  met  the  same  fate,  while 
on  a  mission  of  peace  to  Point  Pleasant,  in  1777.  To  which 
shall  the  term  "savages"  be  applied? 


BID  XAQLX,  A  DELAWARE 


r 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

INDIAN   WARS   OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


AT  the  commencement  of  the  American  struggle  for  indepen 
dence,  the  Indians  stood  in  a  peculiar  position.  Their  friendship 
became  a  matter  of  importance  to  both  parties.  To  secure  this, 
the  English  took  particular  care,  and  had  many  advantages,  of 
which  the  colonists  were  deprived.  The  expulsion  of  the  French 
from  Canada  had  given  the  Indians  a  high  opinion  of  the  valor 
and  power  of  British  forces.  They  also  had  the  means  of  sup 
plying  the  wants  of  t]ie  Indians  by  presents  of  articles,  which 
could  only  be  obtained  from  Europe,  and  which  the  American 
Congress  had  prohibited  the  colonists  from  importing.  They  had 
still  another  and  a  more,  important  advantage.  Since  the  peace 
of  1763  nearly  all  the  t*  factions  of  the  English  with  the  In 
dians  had  been  conducted  by  agents  who  were  attached  to  the 
home  government;  ?nd  who,  of  course,  secured  the  Indians  as 
far  as  possible,  to  the  interest  of  that  government,  when  the  colo 
nies  rebelled. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Americans  were  not  unmindful  of  their 
interests  in  this  quarter.  They  appointed  commissioners  to  ex 
plain  the  nature  of  the  struggle,  and  to  gain  their  good  will  by 
treaties  and  presents.  Congress,  also  resolved  to  distribute  goods 
to  the  amount  of  two  thousand  dollars  among  them;  but  the  wise 
resolution  was  never  executed.  In  almost  every  period  of  the 

(159) 


160  INDIAN  WARS 

war,  the  Indians  took  part  with  the  EngKsh.  South  Carolina 
was  one  of  the  first  states  that  felt  the  force  of  British  influence. 
All  intercourse  with  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees,  the  tribes  nearest 
the  frontier  settlements  of  that  state,  had,  for  some  years  previ 
ous  to  the  beginning  of  the  war,  been  conducted  by  John  Stuart, 
an  officer  very  zealous  in  the  British  cause.  He  formed  a  plan 
to  land  a  British  force  in  Florida,  and  in  conjunction  with  the 
Indians,  to  attack  the  western  settlements  of  South  Carolina, 
while  a  fleet  .should  appear  upon  the  coast.  This  plan  was  dis 
covered  by  the  capture  of  Moses  Kirkland,  bearer  of  despatches 
tc  General  Gage,  and  the  Americans  immediately  took  measures 
to  frustrate  it. 

Yet  so  nearly  had  the  scheme  succeeded,  that  the  Cherokees 
began  their  attacks  on  the  settlements  at  the  same  time  the  Bri 
tish  fleet  attacked  the  fort  on  Sullivan's  Island.  But  the  defeat 
of  the  fleet  enabled  the  Americans  to  carry  the  war  into  the  In 
dian  country.  An  effective  force  was  sent  by  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  and  the  other  states,  at  the  same  time,  which  traversed 
the  Indian  ground,  burnt  their  villages,  and  destroyed  their 
crops,  and  forced  about  five  hundred  Cherokees  to  enter  Florida, 
and  seek  protection  from  the  British.  Soon  after,  they  sued  for 
peace,  and  by  the  treaty  which  was  then  made,  ceded  a  consider 
able  quantity  of  land  to  South  Carolina.  This  expedition  so  far 
humbled  the  Cherokees,  that  they  did  not  attempt  hostilities  for 
several  years  after. 

The  Six  Nations  had  been  secured  to  the  British  cause  in 
July,  1775,  by  Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  intendant-general  of  the 
king  for  Indian  affairs.  This  was  unfortunate  for  the  American 
frontier  settlements  in  the  northern  and  middle  states.  A  great 
number  of  tories  had  taken  refuge  among  the  Indians,  and  by 
their  knowledge  of  the  state  of  things  in  the  settlements,  greatly 
aided  the  sava*es  in  their  constant  attacks.  So  embittered  were 
these  men  against  those  who  had  driven  them  from  the  abodes 
of  civilization,  that  they  outdid  the  Indians  in  displaying  their 
cruelty.  The  principal  leaders  of  these  expeditions  were  Colonel 
John  Butler,  a  Connecticut  tory,  and  Brant,  a  half-blood  Indian, 
principal  chief  of  the  Six  Nations. 

When  Burgoyne  started  upon  his  expedition  of  invading  the 
northern  states,  he  deemed  it  important  that  Fort  Schuyler 
should  be  taken,  otherwise,  he  would  leave  a  favorable  post  in 
his  rear.  Accordingly,  he  detached  Colonel  St.  Leger  with  a 
large  force  of  British  and  Indians  to  effect  its  capture.  The  fort 
was  invested  on  the  3d  of  August,  1777.  It  was  in  so  poor  a 
state  of  defence,  that  an  immediate  attempt  to  drive  off  the 
enemy  and  relieve  it,  was  absolutely  necessary.  General  Herki- 
mer,  a  leading  person  in  Tryon  county,  marched  with  more  than 


IHK  INDIAN'S  CUHtt. 


11 


OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


163 


HERKIMEB'S  DEFEAT. 


eight  hundred  militia  on  this  service.  St.  Leger  had  with  him 
ahout  seven  hundred  Indian  warriors,  who  with  their  wives, 
children,  other  men  and  women  made  up  near  fourteen  hundred. 
He  detached  Sir  John  Johnson,  with  some  troops  and  the  In 
dians,  to  lie  in  ambush  in  the  woods,  and  intercept  the  militia. 
(August  6.)  Herkimer  fell  into  the  snare,  and  was  surprised; 
out  several  of  the  chief  Indians  fell  by  the  first  fire  he  gave 
them;  soon  after  which,  the  battle  was  a,  scene  of  confusion  be* 
yond  any  thing  the  Indians  had  ever  seen.  The  white  people, 
consisting  of  the  militia  and  Sir  John  Johnson's  tory  troops,  as 
his  own  corps  was  called,  got  together  in  parties  of  twenty  or 
thirty,  so  that  they  could  not  fire;  but  pulled  and  hauled,  drew 
their  knives  and  stabbed  each  other.  The  Indians,  who  consisted 
of  Shawanese,  Delawares,  Senecas,  and  others,  after  a  while  con 
jectured,  from  their  own  loss  and  the  confusion  which  prevailed, 
that  both  Sir  John's  people,  and  Herkimer' s  intended  to  destroy 
them ;  at  length  some  of  their  chiefs  told  the  young  warriors, 
that  it  was  a  plot  of  the  white  people  to  draw  them  into  a  scrape 
and  cut  them  off;  and  then  ordered  them  to  kill  all  white  people 
whatever.  It  is  thought  that  near  as  many  of  Sir  John's  tory 
party  were  killed  by  the  Indians  as  by  the  militia.  A  number 
of  Herkimer' s  ran  off:  about  a  hundred  were  so  surrounded  that 
they  could  not  get  away ;  but  they  possessed  themselves  of  an 
advantageous  post  behind  logs,  &c.,  where  they  continued  fight- 


164 


INDIAN   WAKS 


GENERAL  SCmnOER. 


ing  the  Indians  with  great  bravery,  till  Sir  John  drew  off  his 
men,  fearing  that  the  garrison  would  sally  out  and  fall  upon  him  : 
near  upon  seventy  of  the  hundred  by  this  means  escaped.  Two 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Willet,  sallied 
out  about  that  time,  and  routed  two  of  the  Indian  and  tory  en 
campments,  destroying  their  provisions,  and  carrying,  off  kettles, 
blankets,  muskets,  tomahawks,  spears,  clothing,  deer  skins,  a 
variety  of  Indian  trophies,  and  five  standards;  which,  on  their 
return  to  the  fort  were  displayed  under  the  continental  flag. 

Both  parties  suffered  terribly  in  this  close  struggle.  The  Se- 
necas  alone  lost  thirty  men,  and  the  tories  one  hundred.  The 
loss  of  the  Americans  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  was 
about  four  hundred  men.  Many  of  the  most  active  political 
characters  in  that  part  of  the  country  were  among  the  slain.  St. 
Leger  now  summoned  the  fort  to  surrender,  but  again  met  with  a 
steady  refusal. 

Deeming  it  a  matter  of  importance  to  prevent  the  junction  of 
Burgoyne  and  St.  Leger,  General  Schuyler  sent  Arnold,  with  a 


OP  THE  REVOLUTION.  167 

considerable  force  to  relieve  Fort  Schuyler.  Arnold  made  use  of 
stratagem  to  effect  this.  He  captured  an  American  of  wealth  and 
influence,  whom  he  believed  had  been  acting  the  part  of  a  traitor, 
and  promised  his  life  and  fortune  on  condition  that  he  would  go  to 
Fort  Schuyler  and  alarm  the  Indians  and  British  by  magnifying 
the  force  which  was  marching  against  them.  This  was  done ;  and 
the  Indians,  who  had  already  become  discontented  on  account  of 
their  losses  in  the  battle  with  Herkimer,  and  the  disappointment 
of  their  hopes  of  plunder,  left  St.  Leger  to  prosecute  the  siege 
with  the  British  troops  alone.  But  he  concluded  to  raise  the 
siege,  and  retreated  with  his  whole  force  two  days  before  Arnold 
arrived.  The  firm  and  successful  defence  of  Fort  Schuyler,  added 
to  the  victory  at  Bennington,  contributed  greatly  to  inspirit  the 
Americans,  and  may  be  considered  as  the  commencement  of  that 
which  ended  in  glory  at  Saratoga. 

The  horrid  cruelties  of  the  Indians  in  the  service  of  the  British 
roused  the  indignation  of  the  Americans  to  a  fearful  height. 
One  barbarous  act,  although  it  was  a  case  of  individual  suffering, 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the  Americans,  and  was  alluded  to  in 
a  letter  from  General  Gates  to  General  Burgoyne,  dated  2d  of 
September.  It  deserves  particular  mention,  because  of  the  ex 
citement  it  created  at  the  time  it  was  first  made  known. 
i  Mr.  Jones,  an  officer  of  the  British  army,  had  engaged  the 
affections  of  Miss  Macrea,  a  young  lady  of  amiable  character  and 
spotless  reputation,  daughter  of  a  gentleman  attached  to  the  royal 
cause,  living  near  Fort  Edward;  and  they  had  agreed  to  be  mar 
ried.  In  the  course  of  his  duties,  the  officer  was  removed  to 
some  distance  from  his  bride,  and  became  anxious  for  her  safety. 
He  engaged  two  Indians  of  different  tribes,  to  bring  her  to  camp, 
and  promised  a  keg  of  rum  to  the  person  who  should  deliver  her 
safe  to  him.  She  dressed  to  meet  her  intended  husband,  and 
accompanied  her  savage  conductors.  By  the  way,  the  two  In 
dians  quarrelled  in  regard  to  who  should  deliver  her  to  her  lover; 
and  to  settle  the  matter  according  to  Indian  usage,  one  of  them 
cleft  her  skull  with  a  tomahawk.  This  simple,  but  affecting 
story  was  exaggerated  and  dwelt  upon  by  the  American  news 
papers  in  a  style  that  fired  the  people  with  a  hatred  and  a  deter 
mined  spirit  that  would  not  be  satisfied  with  any  thing  short  of 
an  extermination  of  the  savages  wherever  found,  and  which  aided 
materially  in  securing  the  triumph  of  the  American  arms. 

The  next  exploit  of  Brandt  and  the  savage  Butler,  was  at 
Wyoming,  a  new  and  flourishing  settlement  on  the  eastern  branch 
of  the  Susquehanna.  The  territory  in  which  the  town  was 
situated,  was  claimed  by  two  states — Pennsylvania  and  Connec 
ticut.  From  the  collision  of  contradictory  claims,  the  laws  of 
neither  state  were  enforced,  and  the  security  of  the  inhabitants 


168  INDIAN  WARS 

was  destroyed.  The  tories  were  numerous,  and  were  under  less 
control  than  in  the  larger  towns.  But  twenty-seven  of  them  were 
taken  and  sent  to  Hartford  for  trial;  these  were  afterwards  set 
at  liberty.  Burning  with  desire  of  revenge  for  loss  of  property 
and  banishment,  these  tories  and  their  friends  joined  the  Indians, 
and  prepared  to  attack  the  settlement.  A  little  before  the  main 
attack,  some  small  parties  made  sudden  irruptions,  and  committed 
several  robberies  and  murders;  and  from  ignorance,  or  a  con 
tempt  of  all  ties  whatever,  massacred  the  wife  and  five  children 
of  one  of  the  persons  sent  for  trial  to  Connecticut  in  their  own 
cause. 

At  length,  in  the  beginning  of  July,  the  enemy  suddenly  ap 
peared  in  full  force  on  the  Susquehanna,  headed  by  ColonelJohn 
Butler,  a  Connecticut  tory,  and  cousin  to  Colonel  Zebulon  But 
ler,  the  second  in  command  in  the  settlement.  He  was  assisted 
by  most  of  those  leaders,  who  had  rendered  themselves  terrible 
in  the  present  frontier  war.  Their  force  was  about  sixteen  hun 
dred  men,  near  a  fourth  Indians,  led  by  their  own  chiefs :  the 
others  were  so  disguised  and  painted  as  not  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  Indians,  excepting  their  officers,  who,  being  dressed  in 
regimentals,  carried  the  appearance  of  regulars.  One  of  the 
smaller  forts,  garrisoned  chiefly  by  tories,  was  given  up  or 
rather  betrayed.  Another  was  taken  by  storm,  and  all  but  the 
women  and  children  massacred  in  the  most  inhuman  manner. 

(July  3.)  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  leaving  a  small  number 
to  guard  Fort  Wilkesbarre,  crossed  the  river  with  about  four 
hundred  men,  and  marched  into  Kingston  Fort,  whither  the 
women,  children,  and  defenceless  of  all  sorts  crowded  for  protec 
tion.  He  suffered  himself  to  be  enticed  by  his  cousin  to  abandon 
the  fortress.  He  agreed  to  march  out,  and  hold  a  conference 
with  the  enemy  in  the  open  field  (at  so  great  a  distance  from  the 
fort,  as  to  shut  out  all  possibility  of  protection  from  it)  upon 
their  withdrawing  according  to  their  own  proposal,  in  order  to 
the  holding  of  a  parley  for  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty.  He  at 
the  same  time  marched  out  about  four  hundred  men  well  armed, 
being  nearly  the  whole  strength  of  the  garrison,  to  guard  his 
person  to  the  place  of  parley,  such  was  his  distrust  of  the  enemy's 
designs.  On  his  arrival,  he  found  no  body  to  treat  with  him, 
and  yet  advanced  toward  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  where  at  a 
distance  he  saw  a  flag,  the  holders  of  which,  seemingly  afraid  of 
treachery  on  his  side,  retired  as  he  advanced ;  whilst  he",  endea 
voring  to  remove  this  pretended  ill  impression,  pursued  the  flag, 
till  his  party  was  thoroughly  enclosed,  when  he  was  suddenly 
freed  from  his  delusion  by  finding  it  attacked  at  once  on  every 
side.  He  and  his  men,  notwithstanding  the  surprise  and  danger, 
fought  with  resolution  and  bravery,  and  kept  up  so  continual  and 


OP  THE  REVOLUTION. 


171 


COLONEL  ZEBDLON  BUTLER. 


heavy  a  fire  for  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  that  they  seemed  to 
gain  a  marked  superiority.  In  this  critical  moment,  a  soldier, 
through  a  sudden  impulse  of  fear,  or  premeditated  treachery, 
cried  out  aloud,  "  the  colonel  has  ordered  a  retreat  I"  The  fate 
of  the  party  was  now  at  once  determined.  In  the  state  of  con 
fusion  that  ensued,  an  unresisted  slaughter  commenced,  while 
the  enemy  broke  in  on  all  sides  without  obstruction.  Colonel 
Zebulon  Butler,  and  about  seventy  of  his  men  escaped  j  the  latter 
got  across  the  river  to  Fort  Wilkesbarre,  the  colonel  made  his 
way  to  Fort  Kingston,  which  was  invested  the  next  day,  (July 
4,)  on  the  land  side.  The  enemy,  to  sadden  the  drooping  spirits 
of  the  weak  remaining  garrison,  sent  in  for  their  contemplation 
the  bloody  scalps  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  of  their  late 
friends  and  comrades.  They  kept  up  a  continual  fire  upon  the 
fort  the  whole  day.  In  the  evening,  the  colonel  quitted  the  fort 
and  went  down  the  river  with  his  family.  He  is  thought  to  be 
the  only  officer  that  escaped. 

(July  5.)  Colonel  Nathan  Dennison,  who  succeeded  to  the 
command,  seeing  the  impossibility  of  an  effectual  defence,  went 
with  a  flag  to  Colonel  John  Butler,  to  know  what  terms  he  would 
grant  on  a  surrender;  to  which  application  Butler  answered  with 
more  than  savage  phlegm  in  two  short  words — the  hatchet. — 
Dennison  having  defended  the  fort,  till  most  of  the  garrison  were 


172  INDIAN  WARS 

killed  or  disabled,  was  compelled  to  surrender  at  discretion. 
Some  of  the  unhappy  persons  in  the  fort  were  carried  away  alive ; 
but  the  barbarous  conquerors,  to  save  the  trouble  of  murder  in 
detail,  shut  up  the  rest  promiscuously  in  the  houses  and  barracks, 
which  having  set  on  fire,  they  enjoyed  the  savage  pleasure  of 
beholding  the  whole  consumed  in  one  general  blaze. 

They  then  crossed  the  river  to  the  only  remaining  fort,  Wilkes- 
barre,  which,  in  hopes  of  mercy,  surrendered  without  demanding 
any  conditions.  They  found  about  seventy  continental  soldiers, 
who  had  been  engaged  merely  for  the  defence  of  the  frontiers, 
whom  they  butchered  with  every  circumstance  of  horrid  cruelty. 
The  remainder  of  the  men,  with  the  women  and  children,  were 
shut  up  as  before  in  the  houses,  which  being  set  on  fire,  they  per 
ished  altogether  in  the  flames. 

A  general  scene  of  devastation  was  now  spread  through  all  the 
townships.  Fire,  sword,  and  the  other  different  circumstances 
of  destruction  alternately  triumphed.  The  settlements  of  the 
tories  alone  generally  escaped,  and  appeared  as  islands  in  the 
midst  of  the  surrounding  ruin.  The  merciless  ravagers  having 
destroyed  the  main  objects  of  their  cruelty,  directed  their  ani 
mosity  to  every  part  of  living  nature  belonging  to  them;  shot 
and  destroyed  some  of  their  cattle,  and  cut  out  the  tongues  of 
others,  leaving  them  still  alive  to  prolong  their  agonies. 

In  the  following  November,  the  inhabitants  of  Cherry  Valley 
were  attacked  by  a  large  body  of  tories  and  Indians,  under  But 
ler  and  Brandt.  An  attempt  was  made  upon  Fort  Alden ;  but  it 
failed.  The  enemy,  however,  killed  and  scalped  thirty-two  of 
the  settlers,  mostly  women  and  children,  and  also  Colonel  Alden 
and  ten  soldiers. 

But  retribution  overtook  the  merciless  Butler.  In  October, 
1781,  Colonel  Willet  with  four  hundred  soldiers  and  sixty  Onei- 
das,  surprised  a  party  of  tories  and  Indians,  in  the  country  of 
the  Mohawks,  and  killed  and  took  the  most  of  them.  Walter 
Butler  was  among  the  party,  and  being  wounded  by  an  Oneida 
Indian,  he  called  out  for  quarter,  upon  which  the  Indian  screamed 
out  "Sherry  Valley,"  and  instantly  despatched  him. 

A  short  time  previous  to  this  affair,  Colonel  William  Butler, 
with  a  party  of  Pennsylvania  troops,  proceeded  on  an  expedition 
into  the  Indian  country.  On  the  1st  of  October,  he  reached  the 
head  of  the  Delaware,  marched  down  that  river  for  two  days,  and 
then  struck  across  to  the  Susquehanna.  Great  difficulties  were 
lurmounted  in  this  expedition.  The  men  carried  their  provisions 
on  their  backs,  and  thus  loaded,  waded  through  rivers  and  creeks, 
and  endured  damp  nights  and  heavy  rains.  Yet  they  were  suc 
cessful.  They  burned  the  Indian  villages  and  the  tory  settle 
ments  on  both  sides  of  the  Susquehanna;  but  the  inhabitants 


DXATH  0?  WilTlB  BUTUOL 


OP  THE   REVOLUTION. 


175 


COLONEL  PICKENS. 


escaped.  Butler  returned  to  Schoharie,  within  sixteen  days  after 
leaving  that  place,  and  was  received  with  a  salute  and  a  feu  de 
joie. 

Other  expeditions  were  conducted  against  the  Indians  in  the 
course  of  the  year.  In  April,  Colonel  Van  Schaick  with  fifty- 
five  men  marched  from  Fort  Schuyler,  and  burned  the  whole 
Onondago  settlements,  consisting  of  about  fifty  houses,  with  a 
large  quantity  of  provisions,  killed  twelve  Indians,  and  made 
thirty-four  prisoners,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  In  Au 
gust,  General  Williamson  and  Colonel  Pickens,  of  South  Caro 
lina,  entered  the  Indian  country  adjacent  to  the  frontier  of  their 
state;  burned  and  destroyed  the  corn  of  eight  towns;  and  re 
quired  the  Indians  to  remove  into  more  remote  settlements.  In 
the  same  month,  Colonel  Broadhead  made  a  successful  expedition 
against  the  Mingo,  Munsey,  and  Seneca  Indians.  Leaving  Pitts- 
burg  with  six  hundred  and  five  men,  he  in  about  five  weeks  peno- 


176  INDIAN  WARS 


GEXERAL  SULUVAJf. 

trated  about  two  hundred  miles  from  the  fort,  destroyed  a  num 
ber  of  Indian  huts,  and  about  five  hundred  acres  of  corn. 

Detached  parties  of  Indians  distressed  different  portions  of  the 
United  States.  In  July,  a  party  of  sixty  Indians  and  twenty- 
seven  white  men  under  Brandt,  attacked  the  Minis] nk  settlement, 
in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  burned  ten  houses,  twelve  barns, 
a  fort,  and  two  mills,  and  carried  off  much  plunder,  with  several 
prisoners.  In  August,  the  Indians  with  their  tory  associates 
burned  fifty  houses  and  forty-seven  barns  at  Canijohary,  a  fine 
settlement  about  fifty-six  miles  from  Albany;  and  destroyed 
twenty-seven  houses  at  Schoharie,  and  two  at  Norman's  Creek. 

But  Washington  determined  to  send  a  force  into  the  country 
of  the  Six  Nations  which  should  effect  something  decisive.  A 
body  of  twenty-five  hundred  men,  under  General  Sullivan,  waa 
ordered  upon  this  service.  The  forces  were  not  concentrated  at 
Wyoming  until  July,  1779.  On  the  22d  of  July,  a  party  of 
militia,  who  had  marched  from  this  place  to  Lackawaxen  to  pro 
tect  the  settlers  there,  was  attacked  by  a  body  of  tories  and  In 
dians,  and  out  of  one  hundred  and  forty  men,  only  thirty  escaped 
unhurt. 

The  Indians,  on  hearing  of  the  expedition  projected  against 


12 


OF   THE   KEVOLUTION. 


V 


them,  acted  with  firmness.  They  collected  their  strength,  took 
possession  of  proper  ground,  and  fortified  it  with  judgment. 
General  Sullivan  on  the  29th  of  August,  attacked  them  in  their 
works.  *  They  stood  a  cannonade  for  more  than  two  hours.;  but 
then  gave  way.  This  engagement  proved  decisive.  After  the 
trenches  were  forced,  the  Indians  fled  without  making  any  at 
tempt  to  rally.  The  consternation  occasioned  among  them  by 
this  defeat  was  so  great,  that  they  gave  up  all  ideas  of  further^ 
resistance.  As  the  Americans  advanced  into  their  settlements,  ' 
the  Indians  retreated  before  them,  without  throwing  any  obstruc 
tions  in  their  way.  General  Sullivan  penetrated  into  thefceart 
of  the  country  inhabited  by  the  Mohawks,  and  spread  desolation 
every  where.  Many  settlements  in  the  form  of  towns  were^e-f 
stroyed.  All  their  fields  of  corn,  and  whatever  was^fn  a  state  of 
cultivation  underwent  the  same  fate.  Scarcely  any  thing  in  th^ 
form  of  a  house  was  left  standing,  nor  was  an  Indian  to*  be  seen. 
To  the  surprise  of  the  Americans,  they  found  the  lands  about 
the  Indian  towns  well  cultivated,  and  their  houses  both  large  and 
commodious.  The  quantity  of  corn  destroyed  was  immense. 
Orchards,  in  which  were  several  hundred  fruit  trees,  were  cut 
down;  and  of  them  many  appeared,  to  have  been  planted  for  a 
long*  series  of  years.  Their  gardens,  replenished  with  a  variety  . 
of  useful  vegetables,  were  laid  waste.  The  Amer^ns  were  so 
full  of  resentment  agaitfst  the  Lwiians,  for  the  many  outrages 
they  had  suffered  from  them,  ancrso  bent  on%iakmg  the  expe 
dition  decisive,  that  the  officers  and  soldiers  cheerfully  agreed  to 
remain,  till  they  had  fully  completed  the  destruction  of  the  set 
tlement.  The  supplies  obtained  in  the  country  lessened  the 
inconvenience  of  short  rations.  The  ears  of  corn  were  so  re 
markably  large,  that  many  of  them  measured  twenty-two  inches 
in  length.  Necessity  suggested  a  novel  expedient  for  pulverising 
the  grains  thereof.  The  soldiers  perforated  a  few  of  their  camp 
kettles  with  bayonets.  The  protrusions  occasioned  thereby 
formed  a  rough  surface,  and,  by  rubbing  the  ears  of  corn  thereon, 
a  coarse  meal  was  produced,  which  was  easily  convertible  into 
agreeable  nourishment. 

Having  thus  completed  the  wOTk  of  devastation,  Sullivan  and 
his  army  returned.  The  work  accomplished  was  fully  justified 
on  the  ground  of  retaliation.  There  was  no  other  way  of  making 
the  foe  feel  the  consequences  of  their  bloody  and  desolating 
deeds.  The  Indians  were  greatly  cowed  in  spirit  by  the  expedi 
tion,  and  the  frontiers  were  relieved  from  their  attacks  for  a  long 
time  afterwards. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  war,  in  178^a  party  of  civilized  In 
dians  who  had  settled  near  the  Muskingum,  at  the  Moravian 
towns,  were  barbarously  murdered  by  a  party  of  one  hundred  and 


180  INDIAN   WARS 


GENERAL  YTAYNE. 


sixty  white  men,  who  crossed  the  Ohio  and  attacked  them  without 
the  slightesi^wroweation.  JNmety  of  them  were  put  to  death 
without  resistance  on  their  part.  Tl^se  Kentuckians  earned  a 
name  by  this  horrible  deed  worthy  ta  be  ranked  with  those  of 


Butler  and  Brandt.  Retribution  som  overtook  them.  A  party 
set  out  <8  destroy  the  Indian  towns  near  Sandusky;  but  the 
Delawares  opposed,  and  a  battle  ensued  The  Indians  conquered, 
and  several  Americans  were  killed  and  others  taken  prisoners. 
Among  the  latter  was  Colonel  ^awford,  who  was  sacrificed  to 
the  manes  <AtW)se  who  were  murdered  at  the  Moravian  towns; 
the  rest  werWmmercifullv  tomahawked. 

On  the  24th  of  June>  If  82,MenoJm  Wayne  *vas  furiously  at 
tacked  at  a  plantation  about  fiv^Ml^from  Savannah,  by  a  large 
body  of  Creeks,  who  at  first  drove  his  troops  and  took  two  pieces 
of  artillery ;  but  Wayne  soon  rallied  his  force,  and  charged  the 
Indians  with  such  sftlftk  that  they  werejpompletely  routed.  The 
action  was  contested  lilnd  to  hand  with  tomahawk,  sword,  and 
bayonet.  Fourteen  Jmdians,  including  Emistessigo,  a  famous 
chief,  were  slain.  Wayne  lost  but  two  men .& The  royalists  who 
came  from  Savannah  to  jpist  the  Indians,  tfere  driven  back  by 
the  victorious  Americanspvho  took  a  British  standard  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  horses  with  packs.  Of  the  conti 
nentals,  five  were  killed  and  eight  wottnded. 


OP  THE   REVOLUTION. 


181 


This  was  the  last  Indian  battle  during  the  war.  The  whole 
course  of  the  contest  maintained  between  the  Indians  and  the 
Americans  had  been  marked  by  an  excess  of  cruelty  almost  un 
paralleled  in  the  annals  of  war.  Women  and  children  were  put 
to  death  as  mercilessly  as  those  in  arms.  In  the  political  dis 
sensions,  families  were  divided  among  themselves,  and,  as  at 
Wyoming,  all  ties  wire  forgotten  in  a  fiendish  desire  for  blood 
and  revenge.  Such  r  sir*.ggle  is  scarcely  to  be  found  elsewhere 
in  history. 


, 


CHAPTER   XIY. 

TH2  WAR  WITH  THE  INDIANS  OP  THE  WEST  DURING 
WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

AFTER  the  termination  of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  hardy 
settlers  of  the  west  had  still  a  contest  to  maintain,  which  often 
threatened  their  extermination.  The  Indian  trihes  of  the  west 
refused  to  bury  the  hatchet  when  Great  Britain  withdrew  her 
armies,  and  they  continued  their  terrible  devastations.  The 
vicinity  of  the  Ohio  river,  especially,  was  the  scene  of  their  opera 
tions.  Boats  were  plundered  and  their  crews  murdered.  Farms 
were  destroyed  and  settlements  burned.  A  great  number  of 
people  were  carried  into  hopeless  captivity.  All  efforts  to  obtain 
peace  by  negotiation  proved  fruitless.  For  the  Indians  were 
stimulated  to  these  hostilities  by  the  British  agents,  and  supplied 
with  arms  and  sheltered  under  the  guns  of  the  British  forts 
which,  in  defiance  of  the  treaty,  were  still  held  in  American  ter 
ritory. 

(182) 


DURING  WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION.     183 

Finally,  it  became  necessary  to  reduce  the  Indians  by  force  of 
arms,  and  an  expedition  was  prepared  for  that  purpose. 

The  object  of  the  expedition  was,  to  bring  the  Indians  to  an 
engagement,  if  posssible ;  but,  in  any  event,  to  destroy  their  set 
tlements  on  the  waters  of  the  Scioto  and  Wabash.  On  the  30th 
of  September,  General  Harmar,  who  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
federal  troops,  marched  from  Fort  Washington  with  three  hun 
dred  and  twenty  regulars,  and  effected  a  junction  with  the  militia 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Kentucky,  who  had  advanced  about  twenty 
miles  in  front.  The  whole  army  amounted  to  fourteen  hundred 
and  fifty-three  men. 

On  the  approach  of  Colonel  Harden,  who  commanded  the 
Kentucky  militia,  with  a  detachment  of  six  hundred  men  to 
reconnoitre  the  ground,  and  to  ascertain  the  intentions  of  the 
enemy,  the  Indians  set  fire  to  their  principal  village,  and  fled 
precipitately  to  the  woods.  The  same  officer,  again  detached  at 
the  head  of  two  hundred  and  ten  men,  thirty  of  whom  were 
regulars,  when  about  ten  miles  west  of  Chilicothe,  where  the 
main  body  of  the  army  lay,  was  attacked  by  a  small  party  of 
Indians.  The  militia  fleeing  at  the  first  appearance  of  the  enemy, 
the  handful  of  regulars,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Armstrong, 
made  a  brave  resistance.  Twenty-three  of  them  fell  in  the  field, 
and  the  surviving  seven  escaped  and  rejoined  the  army.  The 
remaining  towns  on  the  Scioto  were,  notwithstanding,  reduced  to 
ashes  j  and  the  provisions,  laid  up  before  the  winter,  were 
entirely  destroyed.  After  this  service,  the  army  decamped,  to 
return  to  Fort  Washington.  To  retrieve  the  disgrace  of  his  arms, 
General  Harmar  halted  about  eight  miles  from  Chilicothe,  and 
late  in  the  night  detached  Colonel  Harden  again,  with  orders 
to  find  the  enemy  and  bring  on  an  engagement.  His  detach 
ment,  consisting  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  men,  of  whom  sixty 
were  regulars  commanded  by  Major  Wyllys,  early  the  next  morn 
ing,  reached  the  confluence  of  the  St.  Joseph  and  the  St.  Mary, 
where  it  was  divided  into  three  columns.  The  left  division,  com 
manded  by  Colonel  Harden,  crossed  the  St.  Joseph,  and  pro 
ceeded  up  its  western  bank ;  the  centre,  consisting  of  the  federal 
troops,  was  led  by  Major  Wyllys  up  the  eastern  side  of  the  river; 
and  the  right,  under  Major  M'Millan,  marched  along  a  range  of 
heights  which  commanded  the  right  flank  of  the  centre  division. 
The  columns  were  soon  met  by  a  considerable  body  of  Indians,  and 
a  severe  engagement  ensued.  The  militia  retrieved  their  repu 
tation.  Several  of  the  bravest  officers  fell ;  among  whom  was 
Major  Fontaine,  a  gallant  young  gentleman,  who  acted  as  aid  to 
the  general.  The  Indians,  after  giving  a  semblance  of  fighting 
with  the  regulars  in  front,  seized  the  heights  of  the  right  of  the 
centre  column,  and  attacked  the  right  flank  of  the  centre  with 


184 


INDIAN   WARS 


GENERAL  ST.  CLAIB. 


great  fury.  Major  Wyllys  was  among  the  first  who  fell;  but  the 
battle  was  still  kept  up  with  spirit,  and  with  considerable  execu 
tion  on  both  sides.  The  remnant  of  this  little  band,  overpowered 
at  length  by  numbers,  was  driven  off  the  ground,  leaving  fifty  of 
their  comrades,  beside  two  valuable  officers,  Major  Wyllys  and 
Lieutenant  Frothingham,  dead  upon  the  field.  The  loss  sustained 
by  the  militia  amounted  to  upwards  of  one  hundred  men,  among 
whom  were  ten  officers.  After  this  engagement,  the  detachment 
joined  the  main  army,  and  the  troops  returned  to  Fort 
Washington. 

The  general  government  was  prompt  in  the  endeavor  to  retrieve 
the  defeat  of  Harmar's  detachments.  Another  expedition  was 
determined  upon,  and  General  St.  Clair  was  appointed  to  com 
mand  it. 

The  troops  could  not  be  raised  and  assembled  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Fort  Washington  until  the  month  of  September,  1791. 
On  the  7th  of  that  month,  the  regulars,  marching  thence  directly 
north  towards  the  object  of  their  destination,  established  two 
intermediate  posts,  Forts  Hamilton  and  Jefferson,  about  forty 
miles  distant  from  each  other,  as  places  of  deposit  and  security, 
after  garrisons  had  been  placed  in  these  forts,  the  effective  nuni- 


DURING  WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION.      185 


VOBT  WASHINGTON. 


ber  of  the  army,  including  militia,  amounted  to  nearly  two  thou 
sand  men.  With  this  force  the  general  continued  his  march, 
which  was  necessarily  slow  and  laborious.  After  some  unim 
portant  skirmishes,  as  the  army  approached  the  country  in  which 
they  might  expect  to  meet  an  enemy,  about  sixty  of  the  militia 
deserted  in  a  body;  in  pursuit  of  whom  the  general  detached 
Major  Hamtranck  with  the  first  regiment.  The  army,  consist 
ing  of  about  fourteen  hundred  effective  rank  and  file,  continued 
its  march,  and  on  the  8d  of  November,  encamped  on  a  com 
manding  ground,  about  fifteen  miles  scfoth  of  the  Miami  villages. 
The^  militia,  crossing  a  creek,  and  advancing  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  in  front,  encamped  in  two  lines ;  and  on  their  approach,  a 
few  Indians,  who  had  showed  themselves  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  creek,  fled  with  precipitation.  It  was  the  general's  determi 
nation  to  throw  up  a  slight  work  at  this  place,  for  the  security 
of  the  baggage;  and  after  being  rejoined  by  Major  Hamtranck, 
to  march  unencumbered,  and  expeditiously,  to  the  Indian  vil 
lages.  In  both  these  designs,  however,  he  was  frustrated. 

The  next  morning,  about  half  an  hour  before  sunrise,  an  unex 
pected  attack  was  made  upon  the  militia,  who  fled  in  the  ^utmost 


186  INDIAN  WARS 

confusion,  and  rushing  into  the  camp  through  the  first  line  of 
continental  troops,  threw  them  into  disorder.  The  exertions  of 
the  officers  to  restore  order  were  not  entirely  successful.  The 
Indians  pressed  closely  upon  the  flying  militia,  and  intrepidly 
engaged  General  Butler.  The  action  instantly  became  severe. 
The  fire  of  the  assailants,  passing  round  both  flanks  of  the  first 
line,  was  in  a  few  minutes  poured  furiously  on  the  rear  division 
of  the  American  army.  Directed  most  intensely  against  the 
centre  of  each  wing,  where  the  artillery  was  posted,  it  made 
great  destruction  among  the  artillerists.  The  Indians,  firing  from 
the  ground,  and  from  the  shelter  of  the  woods,  were  scarcely 
seen,  but  when  springing  from  one  cover  to  another.  Thus 
advancing  close  up  to  the  American  lines,  and  to  the  very  mouths 
of  the  field  pieces,  they  fought  with  the  most  daring  and  intrepid 
bravery. 

The  unequal  conduct  of  the  soldiers,  as  is  usual  on  such  oc 
casions,  imminently  exposed  the  officers,  who,  in  their  fearless 
efforts,  fell  in  great  numbers.  Their  only  hope  of  victory  was 
now  in  the  bayonet.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Darke,  with  the  second 
regiment  forming  the  left  of  the  wing,  made  an  impetuous 
charge  upon  the  enemy,  and  drove  them  with  some  loss,  about 
four  hundred  yards;  but,  though  followed  by  that  whole  wing,  he 
was  unable,  for  want  of  a  sufficient  number  of  riflemen  to  press 
this  advantage,  and  when  he  stayed  the  pursuit,  the  enemy 
renewed  the  attack.  In  the  meantime,  General  Butler  was  mor 
tally  wounded;  the  left  of  the  right  wing  was  broken;  the  artil 
lerists,  almost  to  a  man,  were  killed;  the  guns  seized;  and  the  camp 
penetrated  by  the  enemy.  Darke,  with  his  own  regiment,  and  with 
the  battalions  commanded  by  Majors  Butler  and  Clarke,  charging 
again  with  the  bayonet,  drove  the  Indians  out  of  the  camp,  and 
recovered  the  artillery.  But  while  pressed  in  one  point,  they 
kept  up  a  fatal  fire  from  every  other.  Though  successfully 
3harged  in  several  instances  by  particular  corps^  they  could  not 
oe  fought  by  the  whole  combined  forces;  and  in  every  charge, 
a  great  loss  of  officers  was  sustained.  The  soldiers  breaking 
their  ranks,  flocked  toother  in  crowds,  and  were  shot  down 
without  resistance.  To  save  the  remnant  of  his  army,  General 
St.  Clair,  in  the  morning,  ordered  Lieutenant  Colonel  Darke,  with 
the  second  regiment,  to  charge  a  body  of  Indians  who  had  inter 
cepted  their  retreat,  and  to  gain  the  road ;  and  Major  Clarke, 
with  his  battalion,  to  cover  the  rear.  A  most  disorderly  flight 
now  commenced.  After  a  pursuit  of  about  four  miles,  the  In 
dians  turned  back  to  the  camp  for  plunder,  and  the  troops  con 
tinued  their  flight  about  thirty  miles,  to  Fort  Jefferson.  Here 
they  met  Major  Hamtranck  with  the  first  regiment;  and,  calling 
a  council  of  war,  it  was  determined  not  to  attempt  to  retrieve 


AN  INDIAN  CHIEF. 


DURING  WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION.      189 


their  misfortune;  and,  leaving  the  wounded  at  Fort  Jefferson, 
the  troops  continued  their  retreat  to  Fort  Washington.  In  this 
disastrous  battle,  thirty-eight  commissioned  officers  were  killed 
upon  the  field,  and  five  hundred  and  ninety-three  non-commis 
sioned  officers  and  privates  were  slain  and  missing;  twenty-one 
commissioned  officers,  several  of  whom  died  afterwards  of  their 
wounds,  and  two  hundred  and  forty-two  non-commissioned  officers 
and  privates  were  wounded.  General  Butler  was  a  gallant  officer, 
who  had  served  with  distinction  through  the  revolutionary  war.  It 
was  observed  by  General  St.  Clair,  in  his  official  letter :  a  The  loss 
the  public  has  sustained  by  the  loss  of  so  many  officers,  particu 
larly  of  General  Butler  and  Major  Ferguson,  cannot  be  too  much 
regretted/'  The  Indian  force,  in  this  action,  was  estimated  from 
one  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  warriors;  but  no  estimate  could 
be  made  of  their  loss. 

The  celebrated  chief,  Little  Turtle,  was  the  Indian  commander 
in  both  of  the  battles  with  General  Harmar's  troops,  and  in  this 
one  with  St.  Clair.  He  belonged  to  the  Miamis,  and  his  Indian 
name  was  Mishikinakwa.  Emboldened  by  their  great  success, 
the  Indians  committed  more  serious  depredations.  Ambassadors 
sent  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  them  were  murdered,  and  no 
resource  was  left  but  to  send  another  army  against  them. 
Several  months  elapsed  before  the  necessary  troops  could  be  col 
lected.  The  gallant  General  Wayne,  known  to  the  Indians  as  a 
"  sleepless  chief, "  was  appointed  to  succeed  St.  Clair,  who  had 
resigned  his  command. 

To  bring  the  war  to  a  prosperous  termination,  it  was  judged 
necessary  not  merely  to  expel  the  Indians,  but  to  prevent  their 
return,  and  for  this  purpose  to  hold  the  country  by  a  chain  of 
permanent  posts.  Not  being  able  to  execute  this  plan  during 
the  autumn,  the  general  had  contented  himself  with  collecting 
his  army  and  penetrating  about  six  miles  in  advance  of  Fort 
Jefferson,  where  he  established  himself  for  the  winter  in  a  camp 
called  Greensville.  After  fortifying  this  camp,  he  took  posses 
sion  of  the  ground  on  which  the  Americans  had  been  defeated 
in  1791;  and  there  another  fort  was  erected,  called  Fort  Re 
covery.  The  opening  of  the  campaign  was  unavoidably  pro 
tracted  until  near  midsummer.  Early  in  August,  General  Wayne 
reached  the  confluence  of  the  Au  Glaize  and  the  Miamis  of  the 
lakes,  where  were  the  richest  and  most  extensive  settlements  of 
the  Indians;  and  here  he  threw  some  works  of  defence  and  pro 
tection  for  magazines.  About  thirty  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Au  Glaize  was  a  post  occupied  by  the  British,  on  the  Miamis 
of  the  lakes,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  was  collected  the  whole 
strength  of  the  enemy,  understood  to  be  somewhat  less  than  two 
thousand  men.  The  continental  legion  was  not  much  inferior  in 


190 


THE  INDIAN  WAKS. 


GENERAL  WAT: 


number ;  and  a  reinforcement  of  about  eleven  hundred  mounted 
militia  from  Kentucky,  commanded  by  General  Scott,  gave  the 
army  of  Wayne  a  decided  superiority  in  strength.  Though  it 
was  well  understood  that  the  Indians  had  determined  to  give 
him  battle ;  yet,  in  pursuance  of  the  pacific  policy  of  the  United 
States,  the  general  sent  messengers  to  the  several  hostile  tribes 
assembled  in  his  front,  inviting  them  to  appoint  deputies  to 
meet  him  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  a  permanent  peace. 

The  American  army,  on  the  15th  of  August,  marched  down 
Jthe  Miamis,  and  on  the  18th  arrived  at  the  rapids,  where  they 
halted  the  next  day  to  erect  a  temporary  work  for  the  protection 
of  the  baggage,  and  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy.  The  Indians 
were  advantageously  posted  behind  a  thick  wood,  and  behind  the 
British  fort.  On  the  morning  of  the  20th  the  American  army 
advanced  in  columns :  the  legion,  with  its  right  flank,  covered  by 
the  Miamis;  one  brigade  of  mounted  volunteers,  commanded  by 
General  Todd,  on  the  left;  the  other,  under  General  Barbee,  in 
the  rear;  and  a  select  battalion  commanded  by  Major  Price, 
moving  in  front  of  the  legion  in  advance.  After  marching  about 
five  miles,  Major  Price  received  a  heavy  fire  from  a  concealed 


DURING  WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION.       191 

enemy,  which  compelled  him  to  retreat.  The  Indians  had  taken 
a  position  almost  inaccessible,  in  a  thick  wood  in  front  of  the 
British  works,  where  they  were  formed  in  three  lines,  with  a 
very  extended  front,  their  lines  stretching  to  the  west,  at  right 
angles  with  the  river,  about  two  miles;  and  their  first  effort  was 
to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  American  Army.  On  the  discharge 
of  the  first  rifle,  the  legion  was  formed  in  two  lines.  The  front 
was  ordered  to  advance  with  trailed  arms,  reserving  their  fire 
until  they  had  forced  the  enemy  from  his  covert  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet,  and,  after  a  discharge,  to  press  the  fugitives  too 
closely  to  permit  them  to  reload  their  pieces.  Perceiving  the 
aim  of  the  enemy  to  turn  the  American  left,  the  general  ordered 
the  second  line  to  support  the  first.  The  legion  cavalry,  led  by 
Captain  Campbell,  was  ordered  to  penetrate  between  the  Indians 
and  the  river,  to  charge  their  left  flank ;  and  General  Scott,  with 
the  mounted  volunteers,  to  make  a  circuit,  and  turn  their  right 
flank.  These  orders  were  executed  with  great  spirit  and  com 
plete  success.  An  impetuous  charge,  made  by  the  first  line  of 
infantry,  entirely  broke  the  enemy's  line;  a  rapid  pursuit  suc 
ceeded;  and  in  the  course  of  one  hour  the  Indians  were  driven 
more  than  two  miles,  through  thick  woods,  within  gun  shot  of 
the  British  fort.  In  this  decisive  battle,  the  loss  of  the  Ameri 
cans  in  killed  and  wounded,  including  officers,  was  one  hundred 
and  seven.  Among  the  slain  were  Captain  Campbell,  and  Lieute 
nant  Fowles,  both  of  whom  fell  in  the  first  charge.  The  American 
troops  engaged  in  the  battle  did  not  amount  to  nine  hundred; 
the  number  of  Indians  was  two  thousand. 

After  remaining  on  the  banks  of  the  Miamis,  in  front  of  the 
field  of  battle,  three  days,  during  which  time  the  houses  and 
corn  fields  above  and  below  the  fort  were  burnt,  General  Wayne, 
on  the  28th,  returned  with  the  army  to  Au  Glaize,  having 
destroyed  all  the  villages  and  corn  within  fifty  miles  of  the  river. 

The  Indians  still  continuing  hostilities,  their  whole  country 
was  laid  waste,  and  forts  were  erected  in  the  heart  of  their  set 
tlements.  The  effect  of  the  battle  of  the  20th  of  August  was 
instantly  and  extensively  felt.  To  the  victory,  gained  by  the 
Americans,  is  ascribed  the  resue  of  the  United  States  from  a 
general  war  with  the  Indians  northwest  of  the  Ohio;  and  its 
influence  is  believed  to  have  extended  to  the  Indians  in  Georgia. 

The  principal  tribes  engaged  in  the  war  were  the  Miamis,  De- 
lawares,  Shawnees,  and  Wyandots.  Besides  the  brave  and 
cautious  Mishikinakwa,  the  Indians  had  other  commanders,  of 
almost  equal  fame. '  Blue  Jacket,  a  Shawnese  chief,  was  known 
as  a  more  cruel  and  precipitate  leader  than  Mishikinakwa,  but 
possessed  of  less  discrimination  and  judgment.  The  Shawnees, 
though  compelled  to  peace,  retained  their  hatred  to  the  whites. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   TIPPECANOE   WAR. 

BRITISH  influence  and  the  exertions  of  two  remarkable  Indiar. 
were  the  causes  of  the  next  important  war  between  the  Ameri 
cans  and  their  western  savage  neighbors.  The  two  Indians  were 
Tecumseh,  a  Shawnese  chief,  and  his  brother,  the  Prophet,  Oli- 
wachica.  These  men  commenced  their  intrigues  in  1806.  Their 
object  was  the  same  which  had  been  aimed  at  by  Philip  of 
Mount  Hope,  Pontiac,  and  other  great  chiefs — the^  union  of  the 
different  Indian  tribes  for  the  expulsion  or  extermination  of  the 
whites.  But  Philip's  schemes  were  trifling  compared  with 
those  of  Tecumseh  and  his  brother.  They  wished  to  unite  all 
the  Indian  tribes  of  the  west,  from  the  Creeks  to  the  Ottawas, 
and  hoped  to  drive  the  whites  entirely  from  the  valley  of  Mis 
sissippi.  To  effect  this  vast  object,  Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet, 
who  was,  perhaps,  the  tool  of  his  great  brother,  traversed  the 
whole  frontiers,  made  stirring  appeals  to  the  prejudices  of  the 
(192) 


THE  TIPPECANOE  WAR. 


193 


THE  PBOPEJT. 


Different  tribes,  and  made  use  of  all  the  arts  of  persuasion  and 
diplomacy,  in  which  they  were  skilled. 

The  two  brothers,  born  at  the  same  birth,  differed  widely  in 
character,  but  were  well  fitted  to  act  together  in  such  an  enter 
prise.  The  Indian  name  of  the  Prophet  signified  "a  door 
opened"  in  allusion  to  the  way  of  deliverance  he  was  expected 
to  point  out  to  the  red  men.  The  name  of  Tecumseh,  or  Te- 
cumthe',  as  it  is  sometimes  written,  signified  "  a  panther  crouch 
ing."  Tecumseh  possessed  the  daring,  active,  enthusiastic  mind, 
necessary  for  forming  great  plans,  and  carrying  them  into  execu 
tion.  He  was  an  able  military  commander,  a  skilful  negotiator, 
and  possessed  that  dignity  of  temper  and  deportment  which 
secures  respect.  "Well  skilled  in  the  springs  of  human  action, 
he  was  able  to  take  advantage  of  the  weaknesses  of  others,  and 
mould  them  to  his  purposes.  His  abilities  were  stained  by  a 
cruel  temper,  and  it  is  said  that  he  asked  no  quarters  and  gave 
none. 

The  Prophet  had  none  of  the  manly  qualities  of  his  brother. 
He  is  described  as  being  an  indifferent  warrior  and  hunter,  and 
crafty,  cruel,  cowardly,  and  sensual.  He  extorted  a  living  from 
the  Indians  through  the  influence  of  superstition;  and  circum- 

13 


194  INDIAN  WARS. 

stances  gave  him  a  vast  control  over  their  minds.  Tecumseh  had 
obtained  such  a  mastery  over  his  brother,  that  when  in  council 
together,  the  latter  never  spoke — although,  as  an  orator,  he  was 
more  persuasive  than  his  brother. 

Taking  advantage  of  a  belief  among  the  Shawanese,  that  their 
tribe  was  destined  to  restore  the  dominions  of  the  red  men,  the 
Prophet  commenced  a  series  of  incantations,  and  from  time  to 
time  communicated  the  result  to  the  credulous  Indians.  He 
prophesied  the  speedy  downfall  of  the  power  of  the  whites,  and 
the  resumption  by  the  Indians  of  the  customs  of  their  ancestors. 
To  effect  this,  they  were  advised  to  abstain  from  all  intercourse 
with  the  whites,  and  from  using  any  article  manufactured  by 
them.  The  result  of  the  operations  of  the  brothers  was  the 
Tippecanoe  war. 

When  the  treaty  of  Fort  "Wayne  took  place,  Tecumseh  was 
absent,  and  on  his  return,  he  threatened  with  death  some  of  the 
chiefs  who  had  signed  it.  Hereupon,  Governor  Harrison  dis 
patched  a  message  to  inquire  the  cause  of  his  dissatisfaction  with 
the  treaty,  and  inviting  him  to  come  to  Vincennes  and  exhibit 
his  pretensions;,  assuring  him  that  if  they  were  valid,  the  land 
acquired  by  the  treaty  should  be  given  up  or  ample  compensa 
tion  made  for  it. 

Tecumseh  accepted  the  invitation,  but  treacherously  brought 
with  him  four  hundred  armed  warriors,  instead  of  thirty,  as  di 
rected.  At  the  council,  he  claimed  for  all  the  Indians  of  the 
country,  a  common  right  to  all  the  lands  in  it ;  denied  the  right 
of  any  tribe  to  sell  any  portion  of  it  without  the  consent  of  all, 
and  pronounced  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne  null  and  void.  Harri 
son  replied,  that  when  the  whites  came  to  this  continent,  they 
found  the  Miamis  in  occupation  of  all  the  country  of  the  Wabash, 
at  which  time  the  Shawanese  dwelt  in  Georgia,  from  whence 
they  were  driven  by  the  Creeks;  that  the  Miamis  had  consulted 
their  own  interest,  as  they  had  a  right  to  do,  in  selling  their 
own  lands  on  terms  satisfactory  to  themselves;  and  that  the 
Shawanese  had  no  right  to  come  from  a  distant  country,  and 
undertake  to  control  the  Miamis  in  the  disposition  of  their  own 
property.  Scarcely  were  these  words  interpreted,  when  Tecum 
seh  fiercely  exclaimed,  "  It  is  false  1"  and  giving  his  signal  to 
his  warriors,  they  sprang  to  their  feet  and  raised  their  weapons, 
while  Tecumseh  continued  to  address  the  Indians  in  a  loud  voice 
and  with  violent  gestures.  At  this  critical  moment,  the  courage 
and  decision  of  Harrison  prevented  a  scene  of  bloodshed  and 
horror.  He  rose  immediately  and  drew  his  sword;  but,  restrain 
ing  his  guards,  he  calmly,  but  authoritatively,  told  Tecumseh, 
that  "  he  was  a  bad  man,  that  he  would  have  no  further  talk 
with  him;  and  that  he  must  return  to  his  camp  and  take  his 


THE   TIPPECANOE  WAR. 


195 


COUNCIL  OF  VINCENKES. 


departure  from  the  settlements  immediately;"  and  with  that  the 
council  was  dissolved;  and  Tecumseh  and  his  warriors,  awed  by 
the  courage  and  decision  of  Harrison,  withdrew  in  silence. 

The  next  morning,  Tecumseh,  perceiving  that  he  had  to  deal 
with  a  man  as  vigilant  and  bold  as  himself,  apologized  for  the 
affront  which  he  had  offered,  and  requested  another  conference. 
In  the  second  council  he  behaved  with  greater  moderation,  and 
told  the  governor,  that  white  men  (British  agents,  undoubtedly,) 
had  advised  him  to  do  as  he  had  done,  and  that  he  was  deter 
mined  to  maintain  the  old  boundary.  This  the  governor  said  he 
would  report  to  the  president :  and  the  council  ended.  Governor 
Harrison  then  went  to  Tecumseh' s  camp,  attended  only  by  an 
interpreter.  He  was  courteously  received :  but  the  chief  would 
not  recede  from  his  demands;  and  as  he  was  not  yet  ready  to 
commence  hostilities,  the  matter  rested  here  for  a  while. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1811,  the  confederated  Indians 
began  to  ravage  the  frontiers;  and  the  government  found  it 
necessary  to  take  immediate  measures  for  the  protection  of  its 
citizens.  For  this  purpose,  a  small  force  of  regulars  and  militia 
was  assembled  at  Vincennes,  and  placed  under  the  command  of 


196  INDIAN  WARS. 


GENERAL  HARRISON. 

William  Henry  Harrison,  governor  of  the  Indiana  territory. 
Harrison  was  instructed  to  march  to  the  Prophet's  town,  and 
demand  a  restoration  of  the  property  which  had  been  carried  off 
by  his  partisans;  and  he  was  to  obtain  redress  by  force,  if  ne- 


Accordingly,  he  marched  into  the  enemy's  country,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  5th  of  November,  encamped  within  nine  miles  of 
the  Prophet's  town.  The  next  morning  he  resumed  his  march, 
but  discovered  no  Indians  until  he  had  arrived  within  six  miles  of 
the  town.  Parties  of  Indians  were  then  frequently  seen,  but  all 
efforts  to  open  a  communication  with  them  were  vain.  When 
Harrison  came  within  two  miles  of  the  town,  the  path  descended 
a  steep  hill,  at  the  bottom  of  which  was  a  small  creek  running 
through  a  wet  prairie;  and  beyond  this  a  level  plain,  covered  with 
oak  timber,  and  without  underwood.  As  this  was  a  situation,  in 
which  the  Indians  might  attack  with  advantage,  Harrison  pro 
ceeded  with  caution;  but  he  met  no  interruption,  and  arrived 
Bafely  before  the  Indian  town.  Another  attempt  was  made  at 
negotiation,  but  the  Indians  would  not  listen  to  it,  and  Harrison 
drew  up  his  troops  in  order  of  battle.  Then  three  ambassadors 
came  from  the  Prophet,  and  after  some  consideration,  it  was  re 
solved  that  no  hostilities  should  take  place  until  the  next  morn 
ing,  when  a  conference  should  be  held  with  the  chiefs,  and  terms 
of  peace  settled. 

The  army  now  bivouacked  on  an  elevated  plain  northwest  of 
the  village.  To  guard  against  a  night  attack,  the  order  of  cu- 


THE  TIPPECANOE  WAR.  197 

carapment  was  to  be  the  order  of  the  battle.  The  infantry,  in 
two  columns,  occupied  the  front  and  rear,  separated  on  the  left 
one  hundred  and  eighty  yards,  and  on  the  right,  about  one-half 
that  distance.  The  left  flank  was  covered  by  two  hundred  and 
fifty  mounted  riflemen,  commanded  by  Major  General  Wells,  of 
Kentucky;  and  the  right  flank  by  Spencer's  troop  of  mounted 
riflemen,  numbering  eighty  men.  The  front  line  was  composed 
of  one  battalion  of  the  fourth  regiment  of  United  States  infantry, 
under  the  command  of  Major  Floyd,  flanked  on  the  right  by  two 
companies  of  militia,  and  on  the  left  by  one.  The  rear  line  was 
formed  of  another  battalion  of  the  fourth  United  States  infantry, 
under  Colonel  Baer,  flanked  by  four  companies  of  militia,  under 
Lieutenant-colonel  Decker.  Two  troops  of  dragons,  sixty  strong, 
took  post  in  the  rear  of  the  left  flank,  and  another,  in  the  rear  of 
the  front  line.  The  order  was  given  to  the  army  in  the  event  of 
3,  night  attack,  that  each  corps  should  maintain  its  ground  at  all 
hazards,  till  relieved. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  November,  1811,  just  before  re 
veille,  an  attack  commenced  on  the  left  flank,  and  the  piquets 
were  driven  in.  The  yell  of  the  savages,  who  had  violated  the 
armistice,  was  the  first  notice  the  army  had  of  their  proximity. 
Nothing  but  the  precaution  of  encamping  in  the  order  of  battle, 
and  the  firmness  of  the  officers  in  preventing  the  usual  effects  of 
surprise,  saved  the  whole  force  from  a  disastrous  defeat.  The 
storm  was  first  felt  by  Captain  Barton's  regulars,  and  Captain 
Geiger's  mounted  riflemen.  Some  Indians  forced  themselves 
through  the  line,  and  penetrated  into  the  encampment,  where 
they  were  killed.  The  companies  attacked  were  reinforced  with 
all  possible  speed.  A  heavy  fire  then  poured  in  on  the  companies 
on  the  left  of  the  front.  A  gallant  charge  by  the  cavalry  from  the 
rear  of  the  front  line,  under  Major  Davies,  was  made  for  the  pur 
pose  of  breaking  the  Indians,  who  appeared  in  grt?at  force  among 
some  trees,  a  few  yards  distant,  in  front.  The  cavalry  were  driven 
back,  and  the  major  received  a  mortal  wound.  Captain  Snelling's 
company  then  charged,  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  the  enemy  were 
dislodged.  The  fire  of  the  enemy  was  now  very  heavy  upon 
every  part  of  the  lines.  Several  valuable  officers  fell,  but  the 
men  were  not  daunted.  As  day  approached,  Major  Wells,  after 
reconnoitering  the  position  of  the  enemy  on  the  left,  charged  and 
broke  them.  At  this  moment,  a  small  detachment  from  the 
cavalry  dashed  furiously  upon  the  retreating  Indians  and  preci 
pitated  them  into  the  marsh.  At  the  same  time,  the  enemy 
were  charged  on  the  right,  and  pursued  as  far  as  the  ground 
would  admit.  Driven  from  all  their  positions,  the  Indians  dis 
persed  in  every  direction.  So  severely  were  they  handled  in  the 
retreat,  that  they  left  many  of  their  killed  and  wounded  on  the 


198 


INDIAN  WARS. 


BATTLE  OF  HPPECANOK. 


field — with  them,  an  evidence  of  positive  defeat.  The  number 
of  the  enemy  killed  and  wounded  in  battle,  was  estimated  at  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  The  loss  of  the  army  of  Harrison  was  very 
severe,  both  in  officers  and  men.  One  aid-de-camp,  one  captain, 
two  subalterns,  one  Serjeant,  two  corporals,  and  thirty  privates 
were  killed,  and^two  lieutenant-colonels,  one  adjutant,  one  assist 
ant  surgeon,  two  captains,  three  subalterns,  nine  Serjeants,  five 
corporals,  one  musician,  and  one  hundred  and  two  privates 
wounded,  besides  one  major  and  two  captains  mortally. 

Tecumseh  was  not  engaged  in  this  battle,  being  on  an  excur 
sion  to  some  of  the  southerti  tribes.  During  the  contest,  the 
Prophet  sat  securely  on  an  adjacent  eminence  singing  a  war  song. 
He  had  told  his  followers  that  the  Great  Spirit  would  render  the 
army  of  the  Americans  unsuccessful,  and  that  their  bullets 
would  not  hurt  the  Indians,  who  would  have  light  while  the 
enemy  would  be  involved  in  darkness.  Being  told  that  his  men 
were  falling,  he  ordered  them  to  fight  on,  and  began  to  sing  louder. 

The  soldiers  throughout  displayed  the  most  fearless  conduct, 
and  thus  were  enabled  to  resist  one  of  the  most  furious  assaults 
ever  made  by  the  Indians.  Major  Daviesfell  early  in  the  action, 
greatly  lamented  by  all  his  associates.  He  held  the  first  stand- 


THE  TIPPECANOE  WAR. 


199 


ing  in  Kentucky  as  a  lawyer  and  orator,  and  in  the  field,  he  was 
one  of  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  The  legislature  of  Kentucky 
wore  mourning  for  thirty  days,  in  testimony  of  their  regret  for 
the  loss  of  Davies  and  others  belonging  to  that  state. 

After  laying  waste  the  Indian  settlement,  from  which  the  de 
feated  ones  were  obliged  to  fly,  Governor  Harrison  returned  with 
his  forces  to  the  settled  country.  The  Prophet  was  immediately 
abandoned  by  his  followers,  who  had  seen  the  falsity  of  his  pre 
dictions.  His  life  was  even  endangered  by  the  sudden  reaction, 
of  those  whom  he  had  so  successfully  deluded.  However,  he 
added  but  one  more  to  the  world's  long  list  of  false  prophets. 
After  their  terrible  defeat,  the  Indians  seemed  inclined  to  peace, 
and  in  a  short  time,  they  appeared  as  suppliants  for  that  which 
they  had  refused  to  grant. 


INDIAN  I,ODGF,. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE    NORTHWESTERN   WAR   OF    1812    AND    1813. 

A  SHORT  calm  followed  the  battle  of  Tippccanoe.  But  the 
influence  of  the  British  trading  agents  and  emissaries  was  not 
wanting  to  awaken  savage  hostility,  and  that  of  the  ever  active  Te- 
cumseh  was  at  work  among  the  Indians,  and  their  hatred  of  the 
whites  only  needed  such  a  man  to  make  it  break  forth  into  open 
(200) 


AW  INIIAIT  CHIEF  Iff  FDLL  DM33. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13.          205 


COLONEL  MILLER. 


hostility.  Another  event  precipitated  that  which  Tecumseh 
desired.  War  was  declared  by  the  United  States  against  Great 
Britain,  on  the  18th  of  June,  1812.  Of  course  the  Indians  took 
advantage  of  this  state  of  things,  and  commenced  their  horrible 
ravages  at  once.  The  whole  western  frontier  was  attacked  at 
various  times,  and  the  most  dreadful  cruelties  were  every  where 
perpetrated.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  deserted  their  homes  and 
sought  safety  in  flight. 

A  large  number  of  the  Indians  joined  the  British  forces  sent 
into  Canada  and  Michigan,  and  the  inactivity  of  the  United 
States'  troops  under  General  Hull,  contributed  to  swell  their 
number  and  spirit.  A  detachment  of  two  hundred  men  under 
Major  Vanhorne,  fell  into  an  ambush  of  a  much  inferior  force  of 


206  INDIAN  WARS 

British  and  Indians,  and  was  defeated  with  considerable  loss 
Soon  after,  Colonel  Miller,  with  about  six  hundred  men,  routed 
a  large  force  of  British  and  Indians  near  Maguaga  village.  The 
Indians  were  commanded  by  Tecumseh,  and  fought  more  bravely 
than  their  allies.  The  enemy's  loss  was  about  seventy  men 
killed  and  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  nearly 
as  great.  This  victory,  however  brilliantly  won,  produced  no 
beneficial  result. 

The  force  which  besieged  Detroit  consisted  of  thirteen  hun 
dred  British  and  Indians,  under  General  Brock.  On  the  ap 
proach  of  the  enemy,  the  women,  and  children,  and  old  men, 
left  the  place  and  took  shelter  in  a  neighboring  ravine  where  they 
remained  several  days  in  terrible  suspense  awaiting  the  result. 

The  Americans  in  Detroit  were  fully  capable  of  repulsing  the 
British  force,  and  were  but  waiting  the  onset  to  display  their 
valor,  when  their  pusillanimous  general  surrendered  to  the 
enemy  without  striking  a  blow.  After  such  an  instance  of 
imbecility  on  the  part  of  General  Hull,  the  Indians  became 
bolder  than  ever,  and  their  ravages  of  the  American  settlements 
were  constant. 

The  people  of  the  west  made  great  exertions  to  place  a  force  in  the 
field  capable  of  retrieving  the  disgrace  of  the  American  arms,  and 
of  protecting  their  lives  and  property.  Kentucky,  especially,  raised 
a  large  body  of  her  hardy  sons.  By  the  unanimous  call  of  the 
people,  William  Henry  Harrison  was  appointed  major-general, 
and  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  the  west.  His  known 
abilities  and  his  great  experience  made  him  the  favorite  of  all. 
General  Harrison  immediately  prepared  for  vigorous  service. 

He  arrived  at  Cincinnati  on  the  28th  of  August,  and  on  the 
following  day  put  the  troops  in  motion.  On  the  1st  of  Septem 
ber,  the  army  reached  Dayton;  and,  on  the  3d,  arrived  at  Pique, 
a  small  village  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Great  Miami.  Here, 
having  learned  that  the  Indians  had  invested  Fort  Wayne,  he 
despatched  Colonel  Allen  with  about  five  hundred  men,  directing 
him  to  make  forced  inarches  for  its  relief.  A  regiment  of  seven 
hundred  mounted  men,  under  Colonel  Adams,  was  on  its  way 
from  Ohio,  for  a  similar  purpose.  The  whole  army  was  put  in 
motion  for  the  same  place,  on  the  6th;  and,  on  the  8th,  overtook 
Colonel  Allen's  command,  at  St.  Mary's  river,  where  also  it  was 
joined,  on  the  same  day,  by  Major  K.  M.  Johnson,  with  a  corps 
of  mounted  volunteers.  General  Harrison's  force  now  amounted 
to  about  two  thousand  two  hundred  men. 

Fort  Wayne  is  situated  on  the  little  river,  at  its  junction  with 
the  St.  Joseph's.  Being  in  a  favorable  situation  to  communicate 
with  Detroit  and  the  Rapids,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  the 
enemy  would  attempt  it.  It  had  accordingly  been  invested  for 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13.          209 


MAJOR  B.  X,  JOHNSON, 


several  days  by  the  Indians,  who  resorted  to  various  artifices  to 
obtam  possession.  The  garrison,  however,  which  consisted  of 
but  seventy  men,  maintained  their  post  with  great  bravery.  The 
besiegers,  who  had  obtained  information  of  the  approach  of  the 
American  force,  decamped  precipitately  on  the  evening  preceding 
its  arrival,  having  previously  burnt  the  little  village  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  fort?  and  the  factory  which  had  been  erected  by 
the  government  to  supply  them  with  farming  utensils. 

The  army  arrived  at  Fort  Wayne  on  the  12th ;  and,  on  the 
succeeding  day,  it  was  determined,  in  a  council  of  officers,  to 
divide  it  into  two  parts,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  waste  the  In 
dian  settlements.  The  first  division  was  composed  of  the  regi 
ments  of  Lewis  and  Allen,  and  a  troop  of  horse,  under  Captain 

14 


210 


INDIAN  WARS. 


GENERA!  WINCHESTER. 


Garrard,  and  was  commanded  by  G-eneral  Payne,  who  was  accom 
panied  by  General  Harrison.  It  left  the  camp  on  the  14th,  with 
a  view  to  destroy  the  Miami  villages,  at  the  forks  of  the  Wabash. 
On  the  15th,  the  expedition  arrived  at  the  place  of  destination, 
which  they  found  abandoned  by  the  Indians.  They  encamped 
in  the  town,  and  having  destroyed  its  buildings,  and  cut  up  the 
corn,  returned  on  the  18th  to  the  fort,  without  having  lost  a  man, 
or  seen  an  enemy. 

The  second  division  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Wells,  and 
consisted  of  part  of  his  own  regiment,  with  that  of  Scott,  and 
some  mounted  men,  and  was  directed  to  destroy  the  Potawatomie 
village  on  the  Elkhart  river;  which  service  it  completely  effected, 
obtaining  a  considerable  quantity  of  provision  and  forage.  They 
rejoined  the  main  body,  a  few  hours  after  the  arrival  of  the  first 
expedition. 

On  the  day  succeeding  the  concentration  of  these  divisions  ai 
Fort  Wayne,  brigadier  General  James  Winchester  arrived,  and 
took  command  of  the  army.  He,  too,  had  served  in  the  war  of 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13.         211 

the  revolution;  but,  being  personally  a  stranger  to  the  troops, 
and  an  officer  of  the  regular  army,  his  arrival  seems  to  have  pro 
duced  considerable  uneasiness  and  discontent,  which  it  required 
all  the  influence  of  General  Harrison  to  assuage.  The  latter, 
being  now  superseded  in  his  command,  left  the  fort,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  organizing  and  bringing  up  the  forces  in  the  rear. 

General  Winchester  now  moved  forward  his  army,  with  a 
view  of  occupying  Fort  Defiance,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Auglaize,  and  there  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  reinforcements 
from  Kentucky  and  Ohio.  The  country,  through  which  he  was 
obliged  to  pass,  presented  difficulties  of  no  ordinary  nature,  by 
reason  of  the  almost  impenetrable  thickets  and  marshes,  with 
which  it  is  covered.  The  progress  of  the  army  was,  therefore, 
very  slow,  seldom  exceeding  five  or  six  miles  in  twenty-four 
hours.  From  the  apprehensions  entertained  of  an  attack  by  the 
Indians,  it  became  necessary  to  fortify  the  camp  every  night; 
and  the  march  of  the  army  was  always  preceded  by  a  recon- 
noitering  party  of  spies.  On  the  25th,  ensign  Liggett,  of  the 
advanced  party,  obtained  permission  to  proceed,  with  four  volun 
teers,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  the  strength  of  the  enemy 
at  Fort  Defiance.  Late  on  the  same  evening,  they  were  attacked 
by  a  party  of  Indians,  and,  after  defending  themselves  with  great 
valor,  were  overpowered,  and  the  whole  party  put  to  death.  Sub 
sequent  to  this  affair,  various  skirmishes  took  place  between 
the  spies  in  advance  and  the  savage  forces,  which  had  the  effect 
of  impeding  the  march  of  the  army,  and  harassing  the  men. 
The  Indians  appear  to  have  been  the  advanced  party  of  an  army 
destined  to  attack  fort  Wayne,  which  consisted  of  two  hundred 
regulars,  with  four  pieces  of  artillery,  and  about  one  thousand 
savages,  the  whole  under  the  command  of  Major  Muir.  The 
intelligence,  however,  of  the  approach  of  the  force  under  Win 
chester,  the  numbers  of  which  were  considerably  exaggerated, 
and  the  report  of  an  additional  body  being  on  the  Auglaize, 
caused  an  abandonment  of  the  project,  and  a  retreat  down  the 
Miami.  General  Winchester,  however,  who  was  ignorant  of  the 
motions  of  his  enemy,  proceeded  with  great  caution,  fortifying 
his  camp,  as  usual,  at  night,  and  sending  reconnoitering  parties 
in  all  directions.  The  army  had  now  begun  to  suffer  severely 
from  a  want  of  provisions,  Colonel  Jennings,  who  had  been  de 
spatched  by  General  Harrison,  down  the  Auglaize  with  a  supply, 
not  being  able  to  reach  Fort  Defiance,  from  the  presence  of  the 
enemy.  An  escort  was,  therefore,  sent  forward  by  General  Win 
chester  :  and  after  great  difficulty  and  labor,  the  supplies  were 
conveyed  to  the  army,  on  pack  horses.  An  express  had,  in  the 
meantime,  been  despatched  to  General  Harrison,  acquainting 
him  with  the  situation  of  the  troops,  and  the  force  of  the  enemy, 


212  INDIAN  WARS. 

and,  the  30th  of  September,  the  army  took  possession  of  Fort 
Defiance,  from  which  the  enemy  had  previously  retreated. 

In  the  meantime,  General  Harrison  had  been  forming  the 
remainder  of  the  Kentucky  draft,  and  some  riflemen  and  volun 
teers,  from  Ohio,  into  an  army,  with  which  he  appears  to  have 
contemplated  making  a  coup-de-main  on  Detroit,  by  taking  an 
unfrequented  route.  These  troops  had  been  detained  a  long 
time  at  the  places  of  rendezvous,  by  the  want  of  some  of  the 
material  munitions  of  war.  They  had,  however,  assembled  at 
the  river  St.  Mary's,  on  the  20th  of  September.  On  the  24th 
of  that  month,  General  Harrison  received,  from  the  war  depart 
ment,  information  of  his  appointment  to  the  command  of  the  8th 
military  district,  including  the  northwestern  army,  the  commis 
sion  of  Brigadier  in  the  regular  army  having  been  previously 
conferred  upon  him. 

With  this  appointment  extensive  power  was  conferred,  and 
equally  extensive  and  arduous  services  were  required.  He  was 
directed  to  provide  for  the  security  of  the  western  frontier;  to 
take  Detroit,  and  to  penetrate  as  far  into  Upper  Canada  as  his 
force  would  justify.  From  the  number  and  scattered  situations 
of  the  posts  and  settlements  on  the  frontier,  and  the  roving  bands 
of  savages  ready  to  assail  them,  it  is  evident,  that  the  task  of 
protecting  them,  and,  at  the  same  time,  prosecuting  offensive 
operations,  in  other  quarters,  required  great  skill  and  activity. 
The  force,  throughout  his  district,  of  all  descriptions,  was  esti 
mated  at  ten  thousand  men;  of  which,  about  two  thousand  were 
with  General  Winchester,  and  nearly  three  thousand  at  St. 
Mary's,  under  his  personal  command. 

Harrison  immediately  formed  the  plan  of  the  campaign.  The 
rapids  of  the  Miami  was  the  first  object,  and  the  attack  was  to 
be  made  in  three  divisions.  While  arranging  his  plans,  Harri 
son  received  intelligence  of  the  supposed  critical  situation  of 
General  Winchester's  force,  and  marched  to  his  assistance;  but 
the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  left  him  at  liberty  to  pursue  his  own 
arrangements.  One  thousand  mounted  men,  under  General 
Tupper,  was  sent  to  disperse  the  Indians  collected  at  the  Rapids, 
but  the  expedition  failed,  on  account  of  the  insubordination  of 
the  troops,  and  the  want  of  energy  in  the  commander. 

While  these  events  were  occurring  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Lake  Erie,  others  of  importance  took  place  on  the  western  fron 
tier.  Of  these,  the  first  in  point  of  time,  and  one  most  worthy 
of  notice  was  the  brave  defence  of  Fort  Harrison.  This  post, 
which  was  situated  on  the  river  Wabash,  in  the  Indiana  territory, 
was  garrisoned  by  about  fifty  men,  one-third  of  whom  were  sick, 
under  Captain  Zachary  Taylor,  of  the  regular  army.  On  the 
evening  of  the  3d  of  September,  two  young  men  were  shot  and 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13.         215 


j 


ZACHABT  IATWR. 


a<salpe&,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort;  and,  on  the  succeeding  night, 
the  attack  was  commenced  by  the  conflagration  of  a  block  house, 
in  which  the  provisions  were  contained;  and  at  the  same  time  a 
brisk  fire  was  opened  by  a  large  body  of  the  Indians,  who  had 
lain  in  ambush.  The  fire  was  returned  with  great  spirit  by  the 
garrison ;  and,  as  the  destruction  of  the  block  house  had  caused 
an  opening  in  his  line  of  defence,  Captain  Taylor,  with  great 
presence  of  mind,  pulled  down  a  cabin,  and  with  its  materials 
constructed  a  breastwork  across  the  aperture.  The  situation  of 
this  small  but  gallant  party  became,  however,  very  critical,  as 
the  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  enter  by  the  breach  produced  by 
the  fire,  were  of  a  most  desperate  nature.  Two  of  the  garrison, 
preferring  the  risk  of  capture  by  the  enemy  to  the  prospect  of 
massacre  in  the  fort,  endeavored  to  make  their  escape.  One  of 
them  was  immediately  killed;  the  other  returned  to  the  walls, 
and  remained  concealed  until  morning.  The  enemy,  finding 
their  attemps  to  gain  possession  ineffectual,  retreated  about  day 
light,  but  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  for  several  days. 
Their  loss  was  supposed  to  have  been  considerable;  that  of  tho 
garrison  was  only  three  killed  and  three  wounded :  but  the  de 
struction  of  the  block  house  was  a  serious  disadvantage,  as  it  con- 


216  INDIAN  WARS. 

tained  the  whole  of  the  provisions.     For  his  gallant  conduct  on 
this  occasion,  Captain  Taylor  was  shortly  after  brevetted  a  major. 

In  the  middle  of  November,  a  large  force  of  Kentuckians, 
under  General  Hopkins,  proceeded  into  the  Indian  country,  and 
destroyed  the  Prophet's  town  and  a  Winnebago  village.  The 
inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  the  constant  retreat  of  the  savages 
rendered  pursuit  useless,  and  inconvenient,  and  the  detachment 
accordingly  returned  to  Yincennes.  Another  detachment,  con 
sisting  of  three  hundred  regulars,  under  Colonel  Russel,  sur 
prised  and  destroyed  an  Indian  town  on  the  Illinois  river,  and 
after  driving  the  inhabitants  into  a  swamp,  captured  twenty  of 
them.  Several  other  expeditions  were  undertaken-,  in  which  the 
Indians  felt  the  full  power  of  the  revengeful  inhabitants  of  the 
western  towns.  A  body  of  six  hundred  men,  under  Colonel 
Campbell,  marched  against  the  towns  of  the  Mississenawa.  A 
large  number  of  Indians  were  captured  or  killed,  but  the  Ameri 
cans  lost  forty  men  in  a  subsequent  attack  by  the  savages. 

In  the  battle  of  Frenehtown,  on  the  17th  of  January,  1813, 
about  four  hundred  Indians  were  engaged,  and  fought  bravely; 
but  they  were  defeated,  with  considerable  loss  by  the  Americans, 
under  Colonel  Lewis.  Soon  after,  General  Winchester  arrived 
with  his  whole  force,  and  it  was  intended  that  the  army  should 
commence  the  arrangements  of  a  fortified  camp  on  the  22d.  But 
a  more  serious  labor  awaited  them,  and  many  were  doomed  to 
meet  a  terrible  fate  before  that  time. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  the  21st,  information  was  given  to 
General  Winchester,  by  a  person  who  had  recently  left  Maiden, 
that  a  large  force  of  British  and  Indians  was  about  to  march 
from  that  place,  shortly  after  his  departure.  Unfortunately, 
however,  little  attention  appears  to  have  been  given  to  the  report : 
and  the  most  fatal  security  'prevailed  among  both  officers  and 
men,  unsuspicious-  of  the  tragedy  about  to  follow. 

A  most  striking  proof  of  the  want  of  proper  preparation  on  the 
part  of  the  American  commander,  is  evinced  by  the  fact,  that  no 
picket  guard  was  placed  at  night,  on  the  road  by  which  the 
enemy  was  to  be  expected.  The  latter  had  thus  been  enabled  to 
approach  very  near  to  the  camp  without  discovery,  and  to  station 
their  cannon  behind  a  small  ravine,  which  ran  across  the  open 
fields  on  the  right.  Soon  after  daylight,  on  the  22d,  they 
opened  a  heavy  fire  from  their  artillery,  at  the  distance  of  three 
hundred  yards.  The  American  troops  were  immediately  formed, 
and  received  a  charge  from  the  British  regulars,  and  a  general 
fire  of  small  arms.  The  detachment  under  Colonel  Lewis,  being 
defended  by  pickets,  soon  repulsed  the  enemy :  but  the  reinforce 
ment  which  had  arrived  with  General  Winchester  were  over 
powered;  and  not  being  able  to  rally  behind  a  fence,  as  directed 


4 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13.         219 

by  the  general,  were  thrown  into  complete  confusion,  and  re 
treated  in  disorder  across  the  river.  All  attempts  to  rally  this 
unfortunate  body,  although  made  in  various  places  by  General 
Winchester  and  Colonels  Lewis  and  Allen,  proved  in  vain.  They 
endeavored,  as  the  Indians  had  gained  their  left  flank  and  rear, 
to  make  their  escape  through  a  long  lane,  on  both  sides  of  which 
the  savages  were  stationed,  by  whom  they  were  shot  down  in 
every  direction.  Their  officers  also,  carried  in  this  general  tide 
of  flight,  attempted  to  escape,  only  in  most  instances,  to  be  mas 
sacred.  Colonel  Allen,  and  Captains  Simpson  and  Mead,  were 
killed  on  the  field,  or  in  the  flight:  and  General  Winchester, 
with  Colonel  Lewis,  were  captured  a  short  distance  from  the 
village. 

That  part  of  the  American  force,  however,  which  had  been 
stationed  behind  the  picketing,  maintained  their  post  with  undi- 
minished  bravery.  About  ten  o'clock,  the  British  commander 
drew  off  his  forces,  with  the  apparent  intention  of  abandoning  the 
conflict :  but,  finding  that  General  Winchester  was  his  prisoner, 
he  represented  to  him,  that  nothing  but  an  immediate  surrender 
could  save  the  rest  of  the  Americans  from  massacre  by  the  In- 
dians.  Influenced  by  this  appeal,  the  general  consented  to  issue 
the  order,  which  was  conveyed  to  the  detachment  by  a  flag  of 
truce.  Finding  that  the  force  opposed  to  them  was  far  superior 
in  numbers,  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  a  retreat,  and  that 
their  ammunition  was  nearly  exhausted,  Major  Madison,  who 
commanded,  consented  to  surrender,  on  condition  of  being  pro 
tected  by  a  guard,  and  that  the  sick  and  wounded  should  be  sent, 
on  the  succeeding  morning,  to  Amherstburg.  Colonel  Proctor, 
the  British  commander,  having  promised  the  American  officers, 
that  their  wounded  should  be  removed  the  succeeding  day, 
marched,  about  twelve  o'clock,  with  his  prisoners,  leaving  Major 
Reynolds,  with  two  or  three  interpreters. 

The  unfortunate  soldiers,  who  had  been  thus  left,  wounded  and 
helpless,  in  the  power  of  their  enemy,  had  a  right  to  expect,  that, 
at  least,  the  common  duties  of  humanity  would  be  exercised  to 
wards  them.  But  the  most  horrid  act  of  this  sanguinary  tragedy 
was  yet  to  be  performed.  Charity  induces  us  to  hope,  that  the 
tales  which  innumerable  eye-witnesses  and  sufferers  have  related 
of  the  barbarities  that  ensued,  have  been  heightened  by  the 
coloring  with  which  it  was  natural  to  invest  them.  Making  all 
due  allowance,  however,  on  this  ground,  enough  remains  to  satisfy 
the  mind,  that  the  cruelties  perpetrated,  on  this  occasion,  were 
as  shocking  to  human  nature,  as  any  which  history,  fruitful  as  it 
is  of  the  crimes  of  man,  has  ever  recorded.  For  the  slaughter 
that  has  sometimes  followed  a  desperate  and  protracted  resistance, 
some  apology  may  be  found  in  the  exasperated  passions  of  our 


220  INDIAN  WARS. 

nature.  Self-defence,  too,  may  require,  and  humanity  may  then 
palliate,  the  destruction  of  prisoners :  but  for  the  massacre  of  the 
wounded,  no  excuse  of  this  sort  can  be  devised.  Their  sufferings 
speak  a  language  which  none  of  the  children  of  a  common  God 
can  misunderstand,  and  which  the  greater  part  of  mankind  have 
therefore  respected.  The  result  of  this  affair  affords  a  strong 
admonition  against  the  employment,  in  civilized  warfare,  of  allies 
by  whom  the  most  sacred  calls  of  humanity  are  habitually  disre 
garded.  To  the  immediate  agents  of  this  sanguinary  outrage, 
the  scene  was  not  new :  their  savage  habits,  and  equally  barbar 
ous  religion,  as  well  as  their  ancient  hostility  to  the  whites, 
threw  no  impediments  in  the  way  of  the  gratification  of  their 
revenge.  But  no  excuse  of  this  nature  can  be  offered  on  the 
part  of  the  British  commander.  It  had  been  often  said  by  the 
friends  of  Great  Britain,  that  the  ties  by  which  a  common  lan 
guage,  a  common  religion,  and  a  common  descent,  bound  tne  two 
nations  together,  were  of  the  strongest  and  most  endearing  kind. 
These  claims  upon  the  humanity  of  their  enemy  unfortunately 
availed  nothing  to  the  sufferers  at  Frenchtown :  their  blood, 
which  flowed  so  profusely,  affords  a  striking  proof  of  the  feeble 
ness  of  the  moral  bonds  by  which  nations  are  connected,  as  well 
as  of  the  inconsistency  which  often  exists  between  the  faith  and 
the  actions  of  a  people.  The  speculative  philanthropy  of  the 
British  nation  has  led  it  to  disseminate  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe  the  doctrines  of  a  pacific  religion,  and  the  precepts  of  a 
pure  morality :  but  the  remembrance  of  the  tears  and  bloodshed 
of  Frenchtown,  will  long  darken  its  fame,  and  foster  a  spirit  of 
animosity  towards  it,  in  a  people  whom  Providence  has  destined 
to  survive  both  its  charities  and  its  cruelties. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  British  officers  were  not  responsible 
for  the  deeds  of  their  allies,  who  acted  upon  no  suggestion  or 
impulse  but  their  own.  Admitting  the  fact,  that  no  influence 
was  exerted  over  them,  the  moral  offence  of  their  Christian  co 
adjutors  is  but  little  diminished.  He  who,  possessing  the  means 
of  preventing  crime,  shall  yet  refuse  to  interfere,  is  hardly  less 
guilty  than  the  perpetrator.  Posterity,  in  whose  impartial  scales 
these  awful  scenes  are  to  be  weighed,  will  not  hesitate  to  include 
in  the  same  sentence  of  condemnation  by  those  who  committed 
the  massacre,  and  those  by  whom  it  was  not  forbidden.* 

The  Indian  warriors,  who  had  participated  in  the  engagement, 
had  chiefly  left  the  village  of  Frenchtown,  with  their  allies,  soon 
after  the  conclusion  of  the  conflict.  They  proceeded,  however, 
only  a  few  miles  on  the  road  to  Maiden;  and  at  sunrise,  on  the 
succeeding  day,  returned  to  the  village.  The  miserable  night, 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13.         223 

which  succeeded  the  battle,  had  been  passed  by  the  wounded  in 
a  state  of  anxious  suspense,  suffering  from  their  corporeal  cala 
mities,  and  uncertain  of  the  fate  which  awaited  them.  With  the 
return  of  day,  however,  came  a  renewal  of  the  hope,  that  the 
engagement  of  the  British  commander,  to  provide  carriages  for 
their  conveyance  to  Maiden,  would  not  be  broken.  The  delusion 
was  of  short  continuance;  the  work  of  death  had  already  begun. 
Captain  Hickman,  who  lay  severely  wounded,  was  dragged  to 
the  door,  and  speedily  tomahawked.  This  was  the  signal  for  a 
general  destruction.  The  houses,  in  which  the  greater  part  of 
the  prisoners  were  confined,  were  set  on  fire,  and  most  of  those 
ill-fated  men  perished  in  the  conflagration.  Those  who  possessed 
sufficient  strength,  endeavored  in  vain  to  escape;  as  fast  as  they 
appeared  at  the  windows,  they  were  thrust  back  into  the  devour 
ing  flames.  Others  met  their  death  in  the  streets  from  the  toma 
hawk,  and  were  left  mangled  on  the  highway. 

The  circumstances  attending  the  destruction  of  Captain  Hart, 
inspector-general  of  the  army,  were  peculiarly  melancholy,  and 
reflect  the  greatest  disgrace  on  those  who  ought  to  have  prevented 
it.  Being  severely  wounded,  previous  to  the  departure  of  the 
enemy,  he  expressed  to  Captain  Elliott,  of  the  British  army,  with 
whom  he  had  been  personally  intimate,  a  desire  to  be  conveyed, 
with  the  other  prisoners,  to  Maiden.  He  was  assured,  however, 
by  the  latter,  that  no  danger  need  be  apprehended,  and  that  a 
conveyance  would  be  provided  for  him  on  the  succeeding  morn 
ing  :  but  that  morning  only  arrived  to  show  him  the  fallacy  of 
the  hope  of  relief,  and  the  fate  for  which  he  was  reserved.  When 
the  savages  arrived  at  the  house  in  which  he  was  confined,  he 
was  attended  by  a  surgeon,  who  was  tied,  and  conveyed  to  a 
British  camp,  some  miles  distant.  He  there  met  with  Captain 
Elliott,  to  whom  he  related  the  dreadful  scenes  he  had  witnessed, 
and  in  particular  described  the  impending  fate  of  Captain  Hart. 
The  feelings  of  the  British  officer  were,  however,  untouched  by 
the  narration  :  and  no  entreaties  could  induce  him  to  take  means 
for  the  preservation  of  the  suffering  Americans.  The  unfortu 
nate  Captain  Hart  had,  in  the  mean  time,  been  able  to  induce 
one  of  the  Indians,  by  the  offer  of  a  large  pecuniary  reward,  to 
convey  him  to  Maiden.  He  was  placed  on  a  horse,  and  was  con 
ducted  through  the  vicinity  of  the  town,  where  they  encountered 
another  savage,  who  claimed  him  as  his  prisoner.  To  put  an 
end  to  the  dispute,  they  dragged  him  from  his  horse,  and  des 
patched  him  with  a  war  club.  He  met  his  fate  with  composure 
and  fortitude. 

Many  other  officers  are  also  enumerated  among  the  victims  of 
this  dreadful  day.  Among  them  were  Majors  Graves  and  Wool- 
folk,  the  latter  an  aid  of  General  Winchester. 


224  INDIAN   WARS. 

With  further  details  of  individual  suffering,  it  is  needless  to 
swell  these  pages.  Of  the  extent  of  the  massacre,  some  idea 
may  be  formed  by  the  statement,  that  of  the  whole  American 
force,  previous  to  the  engagement,  only  thirty-three  escaped  to 
the  Rapids.  Five  hundred  and  forty-seven  were  taken  prisoners 
by  the  British,  and  forty-five  by  the  Indians.  Two  hundred  and 
ninety  were  killed  during  the  battle,  or  put  to  death  subse 
quently,  or  were  missing,  and  not  afterwards  heard  of.  The 
slaughter  did  not  cease  on  that  day;  for  some  period  afterwards 
fresh  scalps  were  carried  into  Maiden.  The  prisoners  who  had 
been  taken  by  the  British,  after  being  exposed  to  all  the  rigor 
of  the  inclement  season,  were  marched  through  the  interior  to 
Fort  George,  where  they  were  paroled,  and  permitted  to  return 
borne,  by  the  way  of  Pittsburg. 

This  horrible  transaction  roused  the  people  of  Kentucky  to 
new  exertion.  Such  a  massacre  might  have  intimidated  those 
of  less  spirit.  But  revenge  was  now  the  uppermost  thought  of 
the  Kentuckians.  The  plan  of  operations  for  the  campaign  was 
totally  destroyed  by  this  disaster,  and  General  Harrison,  with 
about  seventeen  hundred  men,  turned  his  attention  to  fortifying 
his  position  at  the  Rapids.  The  camp  was  about  twenty -five 
hundred  yards  in  circumference,  the  whole  of  which,  with  the 
exception  of  several  intervals  left  for  batteries  and  block  houses, 
was  to  be  picketed  with  timber  fifteen  feet  long,  from  ten  to 
twelve  inches  in  diameter,  and  set  three  feet  in  the  ground.  The 
position  thus  fortified  was  named  Fort  Meigs.  The  number  of 
troops  in  the  garrison  was  afterwards  reduced  to  about  twelve 
hundred  by  the  discharge  of  those  whose  time  of  service  had  ex 
pired. 

Small  parties  of  the  enemy  had  been  seen  at  various  times, 
hovering  round  the  camp:  and,  on  the  28th  of  April,  the  whole 
force,  composed  of  British  and  Indians,  was  discovered  approach 
ing,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  fort,  and  as  soon  as  their  ordnance 
was  landed,  it  was  completely  invested.  The  ground  in  its 
vicinity  had  been  covered  by  a  forest,  which  was  cleared  to  a 
distance  of  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  lines.  From 
behind  the  stumps  of  the  trees,  however,  which  remained,  the 
Indians  kept  up  a  severe  fire,  by  which  some  execution  was  occa 
sionally  done.  On  the  1st  of  May,  the  British  batteries  being 
completed,  a  heavy  cannonading  commenced,  which  was  con 
tinued  till  late  at  night.  The  intervening  time  had  not  been 
spent  in  idleness  by  the  garrison  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Wood.  A  grand  traverse,  twelve  feet  high,  upon  a  base  of 
twenty  feet,  and  three  hundred  yards  long,  had  been  completed, 
which  concealed  and  protected  the  whole  army.  The  fire  of  the 
enemy,  therefore,  produced  little  effect,  except  the  death  of 


THE   NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13.         225 


SORTIE  FROM  FORT  MEIGS. 


Major  Stoddard,  of  the  regular  army,  an  officer  of  great  merit. 
Disappointed  in  his  first  plan  of  attack,  Colonel  Proctor  trans 
ferred  his  guns  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  opened  a 
fire  upon  the  centre  and  flanks  of  the  camp.  The  cannonading 
of  the  enemy  continued,  for  several  days,  incessant  and  power 
ful;  that  of  the  Americans,  however,  produced  greater  execu 
tion  :  but  a  scarcity  of  ammunition  compelled  them  to  economise 
their  fire. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  reinforcement  of  twelve  hundred  Kentuc- 
kians,  under  General  Clay,  was  descending  the  river,  with  the 
hope  of  being  able  to  penetrate  into  the  fort.  As  soon  as  Gen 
eral  Harrison  heard  of  their  approach,  he  determined  to  make  a 
sally  against  the  enemy  on  his  arrival;  and  sent  an  officer,  with 
directions  to  General  Clay,  to  land  about  eight  hundred  men, 
from  his  brigade,  about  a  mile  above  the  camp.  They  were  then 
directed  to  storm  the  British  batteries  on  the  left  bank,  to  spike 
the  cannon,  and  cross  to  the  fort.  The  remainder  of  the  men 
were  to  land  on  the  right  side,  and  fight  their  way  into  the  camp, 
through  the  Indians.  During  this  operation,  General  Harrison 

15 


226  INDIAN  WARS. 

intended  to  send  a  party  from  the  fort,  to  destroy  the  batteries 
on  the  south  side. 

In  conformity  with  this  direction,  a  body  of  men  under  Colonel 
Dudley,  were  landed  in  good  order,  at  the  place  of  destina 
tion.  They  were  divided  into  three  columns,  when  within  half 
a  mile  of  the  British  batteries,  which  it  was  intended  to  surround. 
Unfortunately,  no  orders  appear  to  have  been  given  by  the  com 
manding  officer,  and  the  utmost  latitude  was,  in  consequence, 
taken  by  the  troops.  The  left  column  being  in  advance,  rushed 
upon  the  batteries,  and  carried  them  without  opposition,  there 
being  only  a  few  artillerymen  on  the  spot.  Instead,  however,  of 
spiking  the  cannon,  or  destroying  the  carriages,  the  whole  body 
either  loitered  in  fatal  security  in  the  neighborhood,  or,  with 
their  colonel,  were  engaged  in  an  irregular  and  imprudent  con 
test  with  a  small  party  of  Indians.  The  orders  and  entreaties  of 
General  Harrison  were  in  vain :  and  the  consequences  were  such 
as  might  have  been  foreseen,  had  the  commanding  officer  pos 
sessed  the  slightest  portion  of  military  knowledge.  The  fugitive 
artillerists  returned,  with  a  reinforcement  from  the  British  camp, 
which  was  two  miles  below.  A  retreat  wag  commenced,  in  dis 
order,  by  the  Americans,  most  of  whom  were  captured  by  the 
British  or  In  diar.  s_,  or  were  killed  in  the  pursuit.  Among  the 
latter  was  Colonel  Dudley.  About  two  hundred  escaped  into  the 
fort:  and  thus  this  respectable  body  of  men,  who,  if  properly 
disciplined  and  commanded,  might  have  defeated  the  operations 
of  the  enemy,  became  the  victims  of  their  own  imprudence. 

The  remainder  of  General  Clay's  command  were  not  much 
more  successful.  Their  landing  was  impeded  by  the  Indians, 
whom  they  routed,  and,  with  their  characteristic  impetuosity, 

Eursued  to  too  great  a  distance.  General  Harrison  perceiving  a 
irge  force  of  the  enemy  advancing,  sent  to  recall  the  victors 
from  the  pursuit.  The  retreat  was,  however,  not  effected  with 
out  considerable  loss,  the  Indians  having  rallied,  and,  in  turn, 
pursued  them  for  some  distance.  The  sortie,  however,  made  by 
a  detachment  under  Colonel  Miller,  of  the  regulars,  gained  for 
those  who  participated  in  it,  much  more  reputation.  The  party, 
consisting  of  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  advanced  to  the 
British  batteries  with  the  most  determined  bravery,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  spiking  the  cannon,  driving  back  their  opponents,  who 
were  supposed  to  be  double  in  number,  and  capturing  forty  pri 
soners.  The  enemy  suffered  severely;  but  rallied,  and  pressed 
upon  the  detachment,  until  it  reached  the  breastwork.  The 
attempt  to  raise  the  siege  was  thus  defeated,  from  the  imprudence 
and  insubordination  of  the  troops  concerned,  rather  than  from 
any  original  defect  in  the  plan.  Many  valuable  lives  were  lost 
during  the  heat  of  the  battle :  and  the  cruelties  perpetrated  upon 


BRITISH  AND  JNDTAN3  PKOCESDJNG   TO  FORT  STEPEENSOX. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13.          229 

the  prisoners,  in  presence  of  the  officers  of  the  British  army,  are 
said  to  have  been  little  inferior  in  atrocity  to  those  of  the  bloody 
day  of  Frenchtown. 

From  this  period  until  the  9th,  little  of  importance  occurred. 
The  British  commander,  finding  he  could  make  no  impression 
upon  the  fort  with  his  batteries,  and  being  deserted,  in  a  great 
measure,  by  his  Indian  allies,  who  became  weary  of  the  length 
o/  the  siege,  resolved  upon  a  retreat.  After  several  days'  pre 
paration,  his  whole  force  was  accordingly  embarked  on  the  9th, 
and  was  soon  out  of  sight  of  the  garrison,  with  little  molestation 
on  their  part. 

The  British  and  Indians  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs 
numbered  more  than  two  thousand  men,  led  by  Proctor  and  Te- 
cumseh.  This  was  a  force  sufficient  to  have  captured  the  whole 
American  army,  and  its  defeat,  therefore,  was  considered  a  real 
triumph.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  during  the  siege  was  about 
two  hundred  and  sixty  men  killed  and  wounded.  The  loss  of 
the  enemy  is  unknown;  but  supposed  to  be  as  great.  I'he  ex 
cessive  ardor  of  .the  troops  who  made  the  sortie  on  the  5th,  was 
the  cause  of  their  losing  so  many  men;  otherwise,  the  loss  of  the 
besieged  would  have  been  small. 

The  repulse  of  the  allies  did  not  deter  them  from  making  a 
second  attempt  on  the  fort.  Early  in  July,  the  Indians  appeared 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort,  and  occasional  skirmishes  took  place 
between  them  and  parties  of  Americans.  About  the  20th  of 
that  month,  a  large  force  of  British  and  Indians — the  latter 
mostly  from  the  fierce  Winnebago  tribe — appeared  before  the 
fort,  and  endeavored  by  stratagem  to  draw  the  garrison  from  their 
works ;  but  without  effect.  A  short  time  after,  dissensions  broke 
out  among  the  allies,  and  they  raised  the  riege. 

The  brilliant  defence  of  Fort  Stephenson  was  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  actions  of  this  war.  The  fort  was  situated  on  the  river 
Sandusky,  about  twenty  miles  distant  from  Lake  Erie.  At  the 
time  of  this  attack  and  defence,  it  was  little  more  than  a  picket 
ing,  surrounded  by  a  ditch  six  feet  in  depth,  and  nine  in  width; 
and  had  been  considered  by  General  Harrison  as  so  untenable, 
that  he  advised  its  commander  to  retire  upon  the  approach  of  an 
enemy.  The  garrison  consisted  of  but  one  hundred  and  sixty 
men,  commanded  by  Major  George  Croghan.  On  the  29th  of 
July,  General  Harrison  received  intelligence  of  the  retreat  of  the 
enemy  from  Fort  Meigs,  and  of  the  probability  of  an  attack  upon 
Fort  Stephenson.  He  immediately  sent  an  order  to  Major  Crog 
han,  to  abandon  and  set  fire  to  the  fort.  But  this  order  did  not 
reach  Croghan  until  the  place  was  surrounded  by  ttte  Indians, 
and  then  he  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  comply. 

On  the   1st  of  August,   the  enemy's  gun  boat  appeared  in 


230 


INDIAN  WARS. 


COLONEL   CROailAN. 


sight ;  and  their  troops  were  shortly  afterwards  landed,  with  a 
howitzer,  about  a  mile  below  the  fort.  Previous  to  the  com 
mencement  of  the  operations,  an  officer  was  despatched  by  the 
British  commander,  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  garrison,  to 
which  a  determined  refusal  was  immediately  returned  by  Major 
Croghan.  Th<3  force  of  the  enemy  was  supposed  to  consist  of 
about  five  hundred  regulars,  and  eight  hundred  Indians,  the 
whole  commanded  by  General  Proctor.  The  enemy  now  opened 
a  fire  from  the  six  pounders  in  their  gun  boats,  as  well  as  from 
the  howitzer,  which  was  continued  during  the  night,  with  very 
little  injury  to  the  fort.  The  only  piece  of  artillery  in  this  post 
was  a  six  pounder,  which  was  occasionally  fired  from  different 
quarters,  to  impress  the  enemy  with  a  belief  that  there  were 
several.  The  fire  of  the  assailants  having  been  principally 
directed  against  the  northwestern  angle  of  the  fort,  with  the  inten- 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-14.          231 


DEFENCE  OF  FOV.T  STEPHENSON. 


tion,  as  it  was  supposed,  of  storming  it  from  that  quarter,  the 
six  pounder  was  placed  in  such  a  position  as  to  enfilade  that 
angle,  and  masked  so  as  to  be  unperceived.  The  firing  was  con 
tinued  during  the  next  day,  and  until  late  in  the  evening,  when 
the  smoke  and  darkness  favoring  the  attempt,  the  enemy  advanced 
to  the  assault.  Two  feints  were  made  in  the  direction  of  the 
southern  angle ;  and  at  the  same  time,  a  column  of  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  proceeded  to  the  attack  of  that  of  the  north 
west.  When  they  arrived  within  thirty  paces  of  this  point,  they 
were  discovered,  and  a  heavy  fire  of  musketry  opened  upon  them. 
The  column,  however,  led  by  Colonel  Short,  continued  to  ad 
vance,  and  leaped  into  the  ditch;  but,  at  this  moment,  the  em 
brasure  was  opened,  and  so  well  directed  and  raking  a  fire  was 
poured  in  upon  them  from  the  six  pounder,  that  their  commander 
and  many  of  the  men  were  instantly  killed ;  and  the  remainder 
made  a  disorderly  and  hasty  escape.  A  similar  fate  attended  the 
other  column,  commanded  by  Colonel  Warburton.  They  were 
received,  on  their  approach,  by  so  heavy  a  fire,  that  they  broke 
and  took  refuge  in  an  adjoining  wood.  This  affair  cost  the  enemy 
twenty-five  privates  killed,  besides  a  lieutenant,  and  the  leader 
of  the  column,  Colonel  Short.  Twenty-six  prisoners  were  taken, 
and  the  total  loss,  including  the  wounded,  was  supposed  to  be 


232 


INDIAN   WARF 


GOVERNOR  SHELBT. 


about  one  hundred  and  fifty.  The  scene  which  followed  the 
attack  reflected  the  greatest  credit  on  the  Americans.  Numbers 
of  the  enemy's  wounded  were  left  lying  in  the  ditch,  to  whom 
water  and  other  necessaries  were  conveyed  by  the  garrison, 
during  the  night,  at  the  risk  of  their  safety.  A  communication 
was  cut  under  the  picketing,  through  which  many  were  enabled 
to  crawl  into  the  fort,  where  surgical  aid,  and  all  tnat  the  most 
liberal  generosity  could  dictate,  was  administered  to  them. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  after  their  repulse,  the 
enemy  commenced  a  precipitate  retreat,  leaving  behind  them 
many  valuable  military  articles.  The  defence  of  Fort  Stephen- 
son,  achieved  as  it  was  by  youth  scarcely  arrived  at  manhood, 
against  a  foe  distinguished  for  his  skill  and  bravery,  and  that  too, 
with  so  small  means  of  defence  at  the  time  subsisting,  was  cer- 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OF  1812-13          233 


BATTLE  OF  THE   THAMES. 


tainly  one  of  the  most  brilliant  achievements  of  the  war.  The  news 
of  the  repulse  of  the  enemy  was  received  with  great  exultation 
throughout  the  Union.  Major  Croghan  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  lieutenant-colonel ;  and,  together  with  his  brave  companions, 
received  the  thanks  of  Congress. 

The  brave  and  patriotic  people  of  Kentucky,  at  the  call  of  their 
venerable  Governor,  Isaac  Shelby,  raised  a  body  of  three  thou 
sand  five  hundred  men  for  the  service,  under  General  Harrison. 
This  formidable  force  arrived  at  Upper  Sandusky,  on  the  12th 
of  September.  Nothing,  however,  was  attempted  until  Harrison 
received  the  news  that  Commodore  Perry  had  met  and  conquered 
the  British  fleet  on  Lake  Erie.  Then  the  army  was  conducted 
into  Canada,  and  on  the  27th,  the  American  standard  was  float 
ing  over  the  town  of  Maiden,  from  which  Proctor  had  made  a 
hasty  retreat.  The  whole  force  of  the  enemy,  consisting  of  about 
two  thousand,  regulars,  Indians  and  militia,  retreated  along  the 
rivers  Detroit  and  Thames.  General  Harrison,  with  three  thou 
sand  five  hundred  men,  mostly  volunteers,  pursued,  and  early  on 
the  3d  of  October,  arrived  at  the  river  Thames,  where  a  party 
of  the  enemy  were  captured  in  the  act  of  destroying  a  bridgo 


234  INDIAN  WARS. 

over  a  creek  in  the  vicinity.  In  the  pursuit,  some  skirmishing 
took  place  between  the  advance  guard  and  a  party  of  Indians,  in 
which  the  Americans  were  victors.  On  the  morning  of  the  5th 
of  October,  Harrison  received  information  that  the  enemy  was 
lying  at  a  short  distance  awaiting  the  attack.  Colonel  Johnson 
was  then  sent  forward  to  reconnoitre,  and  the  troops  were  prepared 
for  action. 

The  allied  army  was  drawn  up  across  a  narrow  isthmus,  covered 
with  beech  trees,  and  formed  by  the  river  Thames  on  the  left, 
and  a  swamp  running  parallel  to  the  river  on  the  right.  The 
regulars  were  posted  with  their  left  on  the  river,  supported  by 
the  artillery ;  while  the  Indians,  under  Tecumseh,  were  placed 
in  a  dense  wood,  with  their  right  on  a  morass.  In  the  order  in 
which  the  American  army  was  originally  formed,  the  regulars 
and  volunteer  infantry  were  drawn  up  in  three  lines,  in  front  of 
the  British  force;  while  the  mounted  volunteers  were  posted  op 
posite  to  the  Indians,  with  directions  to  turn  their  right  flank.  It 
was  soon  perceived,  however,  that  the  nature  of  the  ground  on 
the  enemy's  right  would  prevent  this  operation  from  being 
attempted  with  any  prospect  of  success.  General  Harrison 
therefore  determined  to  change  his  plan  of  attack.  Finding  that 
the  enemy's  regulars  were  drawn  up  in  open  order,  he  conceived 
the  bold  idea  of  breaking  their  ranks,  by  a  charge  of  part  of  the 
mounted  infantry.  They  were  accordingly  formed  in  four  columns 
of  double  files,  with  their  right  in  a  great  measure  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  British  artillery.  In  this  order  they  advanced  upon 
the  enemy,  receiving  a  fire  from  the  British  lines,  from  which 
their  horses  at  first  recoiled.  Recovering  themselves,  however, 
the  column  continued  to  advance  with  such  ardent  impetuosity, 
that  both  the  British  lines  were  immediately  broken.  Wheeling 
then  on  the  enemy's  rear,  they  poured  a  destructive  fire  into  his 
ranks;  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  whole  British  force,  to  the  num 
ber  o'f  about  eight  hundred  men,  threw  down  their  arms,  and 
surrendered  to  the  first  battalion  of  the  mounted  regiment,  the 
infantry  not  having  arrived  in  time  to  share  the  honor.  Their 
commander,  General  Proctor,  however,  escaped  with  a  small 
party  of  dragoons. 

In  the  meantime,  a  more  obstinate  and  protracted  conflict  had 
been  waged  with  the  Indians  on  the  left.  The  second  battalion 
of  the  mounted  volunteers,  under  the  immediate  command  of 
Colonel  Johnson,  having  advanced  to  the  attack,  was  received 
with  a  very  destructive  fire;  and  the  ground  being  unfavorable 
for  the  operations  of  horse,  they  were  dismounted,  and  the  line 
again  formed  on  foot.  A  severe  contest  now  ensued;  but  at 
length  the  militia,  under  Governor  Shelby,  advancing  to  the  aid 


BATTM  BITWUKT  TBX  INDUK8  AHD  THB  HOUHTED  KOUOOg. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  WAR  OP  1812-13.         237 

of  Colonel  Johnson's  battalion,  the  Indians  broke,  and  fled  in  all 
directions,  pursued  by  the  mounted  volunteers. 

A  complete  and  brilliant  victory  was  thus  obtained  by  the 
American  army  over  an  enemy,  who,  though  somewhat  inferior 
in  numbers,  possessed  very  decided  advantages  in  the  choice  of 
his  position,  as  well  as  the  experience  of  his  officers  and  men. 
The  battle  was,  indeed,  chiefly  fought  by  the  mounted  volunteers, 
to  whose  unprecedented  charge  against  a  body  of  regular  infantry) 
posted  behind  a  thick  wood,  the  fortune  of  the  day  was  princi 
pally  owing.  This  novel  manoeuvre,  at  variance  with  the  ordinary 
rules  of  military  tactics,  reflects  the  highest  credit  on  the  general 
who  conceived,  and  the  troops  who  executed  it.  The  whole  of 
the  American  force  fully  performed  its  duty,  as  far  as  it  was  en 
gaged.  The  venerable  governor  of  Kentucky  was  seen  at  the 
head  of  the  militia  of  his  state,  exciting  their  valor  and  patriotism 
by  the  influence  of  his  personal  example,  and  adding  to  the 
laurels  he  had  acquired  thirty  years  before,  in  a  contest  with  the 
same  enemy. 

The  trophies  acquired  by  this  victory  were  of  the  most  grati 
fying  nature.  Besides  a  great  quantity  of  small  arms  and  stores, 
six  pieces  of  brass  artillery  were  captured,  three  of  which  had 
been  taken,  during  the  revolution,  at  Saratoga  and  Yorktown; 
and  were  part  of  the  fruits  of  General  Hull's  surrender.  The 
prisoners  amounted  to  about  six  hundred,  including  twenty-five 
officers,  and  were  chiefly  of  the  forty-first  regiment.  Of  the 
Americans,  seven  were  killed  and  twenty-two  wounded ;  and  of 
the  British  troops,  twelve  were  killed  and  twenty-two  wounded. 

The  Indians,  however,  suffered  far  more  severely.  The  loss  of 
thirty  of  their  number  killed  was  trifling,  in  comparison  with  that 
sustained  by  the  death  of  Tecuinseh,  their  celebrated  leader. 
His  intelligence  and  bravery  were  no  less  conspicuous  on  this 
occasion  than  in  the  preceding  part  of  the  war.  He  was  seen  in 
the  thickest  press  of  the  conflict,  encouraging  his  brethren  by  his 
personal  exertions;  and,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  contest,  his 
body  was  found  on  the  spot  where  he  had  resisted  the  charge  of 
the  mounted  regiment.  His  death  inflicted  a  decisive  stroke  on 
the  confederacy  of  the  savages,  from  which  it  never  recovered, 
and  deprived  the  British  troops  of  a  most  active  and  efficient 
auxiliary. 

The  consequences  of  this  victory  upon  the  interests  of  the  In 
dian  tribes,  were  soon  perceived.  Being  cut  off  from  their  com 
munications  with  the  British  posts  in  Canada,  many  of  them  sent 
deputations  to  General  Harrison,  to  sue  for  peace.  Previous  to 
the  engagement  on  the  Thames,  an  armistice  had  been  concluded 
with  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas,  on  condition  of  their  raising 
the  tomahawk  against  the  British:  and  soon  afterwards  the 
Miamis  and  Potawatamies  submitted  on  the  same  terms. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    CREEK  WAR. 

IN  the  spring  of  the  year  1812,  the  southern  Indian  tribes 
were  visited  by  the  bold  and  enterprising  Tecumseh.  His  stir 
ring  appeals  to  their  patriotism  and  valor  were  heard  with  atten 
tion,  and  he  succeeded  in  stimulating  them  to  open  hostility.  It 
is  to  be  regretted  that  no  specimen  of  the  orations  of  this  great 
Indian  have  been  preserved.  Judging  from  their  effects,  they 
would  be  ranked  among  the  highest  models  of  true  eloquence. 
Tecumseh  particularly  appealed  to  the  powerful  Creek  nation. 
These  Indians  had  long  been  on  friendly  terms  with  the  whites, 
and  a  portion  of  them  were,  therefore,  unwilling  to  begin  a  war 
fare  against  those  to  wjiom  they  had  become  attached.  But  the 
body  of  the  nation  consented. 

The  worst  effects  soon  followed.  Parties  of  Creeks  began  their 
(238) 


CONJURER. 


If, 


THE  CHEEK  WAR.  243 

depredations  upon  the  frontier  settlements.  The  first  regular  de 
monstration  of  hostility,  however,  was  made  by  the  Seminoles  and 
the  Creeks  residing  within  the  limits  of  Florida.  Having  been 
joined  by  a  number  of  fugitive  negroes  from  the  United  States, 
they  commenced  a  cruel  and  harassing  warfare. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1812,  a  party  of  volunteers  from 
Georgia,  under  Colonel  Newman,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  seventeen,  were  attacked  near  the  Lachway  towns,  by  a 
superior  force  of  Indians.  A  sharp  conflict  ensued,  which 
ended  in  the  retreat  of  the  latter  into  a  swamp,  with  the  loss  of 
their  leader,  who  bore  the  title  of  king.  Finding  that  his  body 
remained  in  the  hands  of  their  opponents,  they  renewed  the  attack, 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  it;  and  with  a  loyalty  and  valor, 
which  among  civilized  nations,  would  have  bought  them  an 
imperishable  fame,  continued  a  desperate  contest  until  they  suc 
ceeded  in  obtaining  it.  They  then  retired,  but  returned  again 
the  same  evening  with  reinforcements  j  and  after  various  success, 
the  Georgians  were  compelled  to  return  to  the  place  from  which 
they  had  set  out.  From  this  period,  however,  until  the  summer 
of  the  succeeding  year,  no  event  of  any  importance  occurred.  The 
national  government  had  called  out  a  force  from  Tennessee,  for 
the  protection  of  the  southern  section,  which  was  immediately 
filled  by  volunteers,  to  the  number  of  twenty-five  hundred,  and 
placed  under  the  command  of  General  Jackson,  afterwards  so 
justly  celebrated.  With  this  force  he  marched  through  the 
country  of  the  Choctaws,  to  Natchez,  where  he  remained  a  short 
time  \  and  was  then  directed  to  return  home.  His  expedition  hud 
the  effect  of  overawing  the  Creeks  for  the  time ;  but  their  ani 
mosity  was  only  concealed,  and  burst  forth  with  a  fatal  violence 
a  few  months  afterwards. 

On  the  80th  of  August,  1814,  Fort  Mimms,  situated  in  the  Ten- 
saw  settlement,  was  surprised  by  the  Indians,  at  noon.  The  fort 
contained  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  under  Major  Beasely,  and  a 
number  of  women  and  children.  The  garrison  made  a  desperate  re 
sistance;  but  were  at  length  driven  into  the  houses,  and  they  set 
on  fire.  A  dreadful  carnage  now  ensued.  .  The  fire  and  the  toma 
hawk  were  the  fate  of  all  but  seventeen  persons  who  escaped  to  the 
neighboring  stations.  The  remaining  settlements  were  visited 
with  ruin  and  devastation,  and  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  were 
either  butchered  or  carried  into  captivity,  to  be  reserved  for  more 
extended  torture. 

These  outrages  so  exasperated  the  people  of  the  neighboring 
states,  that, they  determined  upon  a  full  revenge.  The  legislature 
of  Tennessee  authorized  the  executive  to  call  out  three  thousand 
five  hundred  of  the  militia,  and  General  Andrew  Jackson  was 
appointed  commander  of  the  whole  force.  Jackson  marched  to 


244  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  Ten  Islands,  on  the  Coosa,  which  he  reached  towards  the  end 
of  October. 

A  few  days  afterwards  General  Coffee  was  detached  with  nine 
hundred  men,  to  attack  and  disperse  a  body  of  the  enemy,  posted 
at  Talluchatchee,  about  thirteen  miles  distant.  Early  on  the 
succeeding  morning,  he  arrived  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
town,  and  dividing  his  force  into  two  columns,  completely  sur 
rounded  it.  The  Indians.,  perceiving  the  approach  of  a  company 
of.  spies,  sent  to  draw  them  into  the  field,  made  a  furious  charge, 
and  drove  them  upon  the  main  body.  The  latter,  in  their  turn, 
compelled  the  enemy  to  fall  back,  and  take  refuge  in  their  town, 
where  they  maintained,  for  a  long  time,  a  desperate  conflict, 
neither  asking  nor  receiving  quarter,  until  nearly  every  warrior 
perished.  The  wounded  survivors,  and  a  number  of  women  and 
children,  were  taken  prisoners.  One  hundred  and  eighty-six  of 
the  enemy  were  killed,  among  whom  were  unfortunately  some 
women  and  children,  who  are  represented  to  have  lost  their  lives 
in  consequence  of  being  mingled  with  the  warriors.  Of  General 
Coffee's  force,  five  were  killed,  and  forty  wounded.  The  de 
tachment  rejoined  the  main  body  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 

Having  received  information,  soon  after  this  event,  that  the 
enemy  had  invested  a  fort  of  the  friendly  Indians,  at  Talladega, 
about  thirty  miles  distant,  General  Jackson  determined  to  pro 
ceed  with  his  whole  army  to  its  relief.  His  force  now  consisted 
of  twelve  hundred  infantry,  and  eight  hundred  mounted  cavalry 
and  gun  men :  and,  leaving  behind  the  sick,  the  wounded,  and 
the  baggage,  under  a  sufficient  guard,  he  commenced  his  march 
at  midnight,  of  the  7th  of  December,  the  day  on  which  he 
received  the  information.  Such  was  the  ardor  of  the  troops, 
and  the  skill  and  resolution  of  their  commander,  that,  notwith 
standing  a  detention  of  many  hours  in  crossing  the  river,  and 
their  fatigue  and  want  of  sleep,  they  arrived  by  the  evening 
within  six  miles  of  the  enemy.  At  five  the  next  morning,  the 
march  was  resumed,  and  at  seven,  the  army  having  arrived  at  the 
distance  of  a  mile  from  the  Indians,  General  Jackson  made  his 
disposition  for  the  attack.  The  advance,  under  General  Carroll, 
was  directed  to  commence  the  action,  and  having  drawn  the 
enemy  out  of  their  post,  to  fall  back  upon  the  main  body.  The 
mounted  men  were  posted  on  the  right  and  left,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  surround  the  enemy,  while  a  corps  of  reserve,  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  cavalry,  were  posted  in  the  rear  of  the  centre.  Thia 
plan  would  have  fully  succeeded,  had  it  not  been  for  the  defec 
tion  of  a  part  of  the  infantry,  who  fled  on  the  first  approach  of 
the  enemy.  The  reserve,  however,  having  been  brought  up,  a 
sharp  conflict  ensued,  which  ended  in  the  total  overthrow  of  tho 
enemy.  The  greater  part  of  them  escaped,  in  consequence  of 


THE  CREEK  WAR.  247 

the  investment  not  being  complete.  Three  hundred  warriors 
were  left  dead  on  the  field,  and  many  more  were  killed  in  the 
pursuit.  Their  whole  force  was  supposed  to  have  exceeded  one 
thousand.  Fifteen  of  the  Americans  were  killed,  and  eighty 
wounded.  The  friendly  Indians  were  thus  relieved  from  their 
anxiety,  and  the  opportunity  might  have  been  taken,  to  follow 
up  the  blow,  but  for  the  want  of  provisions,  and  the  situation  of 
the  posts  in  the  rear.  The  American  commander,  accordingly, 
commenced  his  return  on  the  succeeding  day;  but  on  his  arrival 
at  Fort  Strother,  at  the  Ten  Islands,  where  a  fort  had  been 
erected,  he  found,  to  his  great  mortification,  that  none  of  the 
expected  supplies  had  arrived. 

While  in  this  situation,  the  firmness  and  decision  of  General 
Jackson  were  nobly  displayed  in  quelling  the  continual  attempts 
at  mutiny.  This  was  effected  only  by  the  most  earnest  remon 
strances,  and  sometimes  by  force.  Jackson  risked  his  life  upon  one 
occasion;  but  his  iron  will  prevailed,  and  he  maintained  order 
and  discipline  until  his  army  reached  Nashville.  During  this 
time,  the  Indians  were  suffering  a  full  measure  of  retribution  in 
another  quarter.  General  Cocke,  who  commanded  the  detached 
militia  of  East  Tennessee,  had  despatched  General  White,  with 
a  part  of  his  force,  against  the  towns  of  the  Hillabee  tribe. 
This  unfortunate  race,  who  had  been  the  principal  sufferers  at 
the  battle  of  Talladega,  had  applied  to  General  Jackson  for  peace, 
offering  to  receive  it  on  such  terms  as  he  should  dictate.  Igno 
rant  of  this  proposal,  General  White  proceeded  to  fulfil  his 
instructions :  and  having  destroyed  their  town,  and  killed  sixty 
of  the  warriors,  be  returned  with  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
prisoners.  About  the  same  time,  too,  the  Georgia  militia,  under 
General  Floyd,  obtained  a  signal  victory  over  a  body  of  the 
enemy,  at  the  Autossee  towns,  'on  the  Tallapoosa  river.  The 
Indians  fought  with  a  degree  of  bravery,  bordering  upon  despe 
ration.  The  superior  tactics  of  civilization,  however,  triumphed, 
and  after  a  contest  of  three  hours  duration,  the  enemy  fled,  with 
the  loss  of  about  two  hundred  killed,  among  whom,  two  of  their 
kings  were  included.  Eleven  of  the  Georgians  were  killed,  and 
fifty  wounded. 

The  discontent  and  insubordination  of  General  Jackson's  army 
were  not  diminished  by  the  discharge  of  the  volunteers.  Every 
accession  of  force  appears  to  have  been  animated  with  the  same 
spirit,  or  to  have  caught  the  baneful  contagion.  Many  of  the 
superior  officers,  regardless  of  their  stations  and  characters,  are 
represented  to  have  given  countenance  to,  or  not  sufficiently 
restrained  the  riotous  conduct  of  their  .men.  The  term  of  service 
of  the  militia,  too,  having  now  expired,  General  Jackson  was 
soon  afterwards  abandoned  by  all  but  a  small  number  who  had 


248  INDIAN   WARS. 

volunteered  to  remain.  A  reinforcement  of  about  one  thousand 
mounted  volunteers,  however,  soon  after  arrived,  who  were  en 
gaged  for  sixty  days  only.  They  were  placed  under  the  com 
mand  of  General  Coffee }  and  General  Jackson  resolved  to  lead 
them  immediately  against  the  enemy.  They  accordingly  marched 
on  the  15th  of  January,  and  at  Talladega  were  joined  by  about 
two  hundred  friendly  Indians.  At  this  place,  General  Jackson 
received  advices  from  General  Floyd,  of  a  contemplated  move 
ment  of  his  force,  and  determined  to  advance  further  into  the 
Indian  country,  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  diversion  in  his 
favor. 

A  considerable  body  of  the  enemy,  being  posted  at  a  bend 
of  the  Tallapoosa,  near  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  called  Emuckfaw, 
he  resolved  to  proceed  thither  immediately.  After  a  difficult 
march,  he  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the  21st,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  enemy,  and  encamped  in  a  hollow  square.  Hearing  from 
his  spies,  that  the  Indians  were  apprized  of  his  approach,  and 
appeared  meditating  an  attack,  every  preparation  was  made  to 
receive  them.  At  dawn  the  next  morning,  they  commenced  a 
furious  onset  on  his  left  flank ;  and  after  a  warm  action  of  half 
an  hour,  were  repulsed,  and  driven  back  about  two  miles. 
General  Jackson  now  ordered  General  Coffee,  with  four  hundred 
men,  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  encampment,  and  to  attack  it; 
if  he  thought  it  advisable. 

That  officer,  however,  finding  the  post  too  strong,  returned  to 
the  American  encampment :  and  shortly  afterwards,  a  part  of  the 
enemy  made  a  feint  upon  the  right  of  the  army,  while  the  main 
body  commenced  a  furious  assault  upon  the  left.  In  the  mean 
time,  General  Coffee  was  detached  to  turn  their  left  flank.  His 
force,  which  had  been  considerable  at  the  outset,  was-  reduced  by 
the  desertion  of  his  men,  to  about  fifty,  with  whom,  nevertheless, 
he  succeeded  in  driving  the  enemy  opposed  to  him,  into  the 
marshes  of  the  creek.  In  this  situation,  covered  with  reeds,  they 
were  secured  from  danger.  General  Coffee,  therefore,  retired 
with  the  hope  of  drawing  them  out.  In  this  design,  he  com 
pletely  succeeded :  the  enemy  advanced  from  the  place  of  their 
retreat,  and  a  sharp  contest  ensued,  which  continued  about  an 
hour,  when  a  reinforcement  arriving  from  the  main  body;  of  the 
Americans,  the  Indians  fled  with  precipitation,  pursued  by  the 
victors,  and  perished,  it  is  supposed,  to  a  man. 

In  the  meantime,  the  conflict  on  the  right  of  the  main  body, 
had  also  eventuated  in  the  success  of  the  American  arms.  The 
enemy,  posted  behind  logs  and  trees,  had  maintained  a  warm  fire 
for  some  time,  which  was  sustained  by  the  Americans  with 
great  gallantry.  A  general  charge  was,  however,  soon  ordered, 


GENERAL  JACKSON. 


which  the  Indians  were  unable   to  resist.     They  betook  them 
selves  to  flight,  and  reached  their  fortified  post  with  great  loss. 

After  this  well  fought  battle,  General  Jackson  determined 
to  .return  to  the  Ten  Islands,  on  account  of  the  want  of  provi 
sions  and  attendance  for  the  wounded.  Accordingly,  on  the  suc 
ceeding  morning,  he  commenced  his  march,  and  continued  it 
without  interruption  until  evening,  when  he  encamped  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Enotichopco  creek.  On  the  next  morning,  in 
crossing  the  creek,  the  rear  was  attacked  by  a  large  body  of  In 
dians.  The  troops  faced  about,  and  a  furious  contest  ensued.  The 
Indians  were  at  length  defeated  and  pursued  to  a  considerable  dis 
tance.  The  victory  was  owing  to  the  activity  and  determination 
of  Generals  Jackson  and  Coffee,  and,  but  for  the  disobedience  of 
some  of  the  troops,  the  dispositions  of  the  commander  would 
have  effected  the  capture  of  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy.  No 
further  obstruction  was  met  with  by  the  army,  and  it  reached 
Fort  Strother  on  the  27th. 


250 


INDIAN  WARS. 


In  the  meantime,  General  Floyd  had  been  pursuing  a  separate 
plan  of  operations.  Before  dawn,  on  the  27th  of  January,  his 
camp  was  assailed  with  great  fury  by  a  large  number  of  Indians. 
A  fierce  and  obstinate  struggle  ensued,  and  the  savages  were 
again  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  thirty-seven,  killed  and  a  large 
number  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  considerable. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  General  Jackson  commenced  another 
expedition  against  the  enemy,  which  was  destined  to  end  in  the 
total  overthrow  of  the  unfortunate  Creeks.  Having  established 
a  fort  at  Cedar  Creek,  he  set  out  with  the  intention  of  attacking 
the  encampment  on  the  Talapoosa,  near  New  Youcka. 

This  post,  which  it  had  been  deemed  most  prudent  to  leave 
untouched,  on  the  former  expeditions,  was  subsequently  selected 
and  fortified,  with  a  degree  of  knowledge  and  skill  uncommon 
among  an  uncivilized  people.  Surrounded  almost  entirely  by  the 
river,  the  only  passage  by  which  it  was  accessible  was  over  a 
narrow  neck  of  land,  which  had  been  fortified  with  the  greatest 
care.  A  breastwork,  from  five  to  eight  feet  in  height,  formed  of 
trunks  of  trees  and  timbers  placed  horizontally  on  each  other, 
with  only  one  place  of  entrance,  and  a  double  row  of  port  holes, 
served  as  the  means  by  which  this  brave  but  deluded  race  hoped 
to  resist  the  torrent,  which  now  threatened  to  overwhelm  them.  ; 

The  force  which  General  Jackson  brought  with  him  to  this 
encounter,  was  greater  than  any  he  had  heretofore  commanded. 
Although  reduced  by  the  detachments  left  behind  for  garrisons, 
it  amounted  to  little  less  than  three  thousand  men.  At  ten  in 
the  morning  of  the  27th  of  March,  he  reached  the  vicinity  of 
Tohopeka.  The  enemy,  aware  of  his  approach,  made  every  pre 
paration  in  their  power  to  receive  him;  and  arrayed  their  force, 
which  was  supposed  to  amount  to  about  one  thousand  men,  in 
the  best  manner  for  defence. 

General  Jackson  soon  arranged  his  plan  of  attack.  Having 
despatched  General  Coffee,,  at  the  head  of  the  mounted  infantry, 
and  friendly  Indians,  with  directions  to  gain  the  southern  bank, 
and  encircle  the  bend,  he  drew  up  the  remainder  of  his  forces  in 
front  of  the  breastwork.  The  cannon,  directed  by  Major  Brad 
ford,  were  posted  on  an  eminence,  about  two  hundred  yards  from 
the  enemy's  line,  while  the  musketry  was  placed  nearer,  to  take 
advantage  of  the  appearance  of  the  enemy  from  their  works.  In 
this  situation,  the  army  lay  for  some  minutes.  At  last,  the  sig 
nal  being  made  that  General  Coffee  had  reached  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  the  troops  moved  forward  to  the  charge.  They  ad 
vanced  to  the  breastwork  with  the  utmost  gallantry,  and  were 
received  with  equal  coolness.  For  some  moments,  a  most  de 
structive  contest  was  maintained  at  the  port  holes;  at  length, 
Major  Montgomery,  of  the  regulars,  springing  to  the  wall,  called 


THE   CREEK  WAR.  251 

to  his  men  to  follow  him.  He  was  immediately  killed;  but  the 
ardor  of  his  troops  was  not  restrained  by  his  fall.  They  scaled 
the  rampart  with  impetuosity,  and  in  a  short  time  drove  their 
opponents  into  the  brush,  with  which  the  peninsula  was  covered. 
From  this  they  were  again  forced,  and  retreated  to  the  southern 
bank,  where  they  found  General  Coffee's  command  on  the  oppo- 
.gite  shore.  Driven  now  to  desperation,  by  finding  their  retreat 
cut  off,  those  who  survived  endeavored  to  take  refuge  behind  the 
lofty  and  precipitous  bank  of  the  river,  from  which  they  occa 
sionally  fired  upon  their  conquerors.  General  Jackson,  who  saw 
that  the  victory  was  completely  gained,  sent  a  flag,  with  an  inter 
preter,  to  summon  them  to  a  surrender.  Either  misunderstand 
ing  the  nature  of  the  proposal,  or  being  determined  to  refuse 
quarter,  they  fired  upon  and  wounded  one  of  the  party.  The 
destruction  which  they  appeared  to  seek,  was  now,  therefore,  ac 
corded  them.  The  trees  and  brush,  in  which  they  had  concealed 
themselves,  were  set  on  fire,  by  means  of  torches,  and  they  were 
thus  exposed  to  the  view  of  their  assailants,  by  whom  their  num 
bers  were  soon  materially  thinned.  This  work  of  slaughter  and 
misery  continued  until  night.  The  few  wretched  survivors  were 
enabled,  by  the  darkness,  to  make  their  escape.  In  the  mean 
time,  General  Coffee's  detachment,  by  making  an  attack  upon  the 
village,  and  diverting  the  attention  of  the  enemy,  had  contributed 
materially  to  the  success  of  the  action. 

This  victory,  which  in  its  consequences  was  final  and  decisive, 
gave  a  death  blow  to  the  power  and  hopes  of  the  Creeks.  Never, 
in  any  preceding  conflict,  had  their  native  valor  and  resolution 
been  more  eminently  conspicuous.  They  fought  with  undaunted 
courage  at  their  entrenchments,  and  only  fell  back  when  over 
powered  by  vastly  superior  numbers.  Their  contempt  of  death, 
and  loftiness  of  spirit,  are  manifested  by  the  fact,  that  only  four 
men  were  taken  prisoners,  while  three  hundred  women  and  chil 
dren  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors.  Five  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  warriors  were  found  dead  on  the  ground,  besides  a  great 
number  who  perished  in  attempting  to  cross  the  river.  Among 
the  killed  were  three  of  their  religious  counsellors,  whom  they 
denominated  prophets,  and  who  met  their  death  with  that  com 
posure,  which  arose  from  a  conviction  of  the  justice  of  their 
cause,  and  the  persuasion  of  future  happiness.  Thus,  while  we  fec4 
disposed  to  admit  the  propriety  of  inflicting  exemplary  punish 
ment  on  those  whom  neither  humanity  nor  treaties  could  restrain, 
we  cannot  but  admire  the  unquenchable  fortitude  and  devotion 
of  this  heroic  race.  Neither  ought  a  just  tribute  of  praise  to  be 
withheld  from  the  American  troops.  When  it  is  considered, 
that  they  had  recently  left  their  homes,  and  pacific  occupations, 
to  encounter  an  enemy,  who,  though  inferior  in  numbers,  was 


252 


INDIAN  WARS. 


1REATT  OP  THB  HICKOET  GEODKD. 


yet  terrible  from  his  bravery,  and  skill  in  tbe  species  of  warfare 
practised,  and  whose  position,  on  this  occasion,  added  greatly  to 
his  advantages,  their  steady  and  determined  bravery  entitles  them 
to  the  hightest  encomiums.  Throughout  the  whole  of  this  cam 
paign,  indeed,  their  behavior  was  such  as  to  obliterate  the  disgrace, 
which  had  previousl}T  attached  to  the  militia  of  Tennessee,  from 
the  disorderly  conduct  of  preceding  detachments,  as  well  as  to 
acquire  for  them  the  highest  praise  from  their  commanding  officer. 
In  the  battle  of  Tohopeka,  fifty- five  of  the  Americans  were  killed, 
and  one  hundred  and  forty-six  wounded.  Among  the  former 
was  Major  Montgomery,  a  young  officer  of  great  promise,  and 
Lieutenants  Moulton  and  Somerville. 

After  this  engagement,  General  Jackson  returned  with  his  vic 
torious  army  to  Fort  Williams:  but,  determined  to  give  his 
enemy  no  opportunity  of  retrieving  the  misfortune  that  had  be 
fallen  him,  he  recommenced  operations  immediately  afterwards. 
On  the  7th  of  April,  he  again  set  out  for  Tallapoosa,  with  the 
view  of  forming  a  junction  with  the  Georgia  troops,  under  Colonel 
Milton,  and  completing  the  subjugation  of  the  country.  On  the 
14th  of  that  month,  the  union  of  the  two  armies  was  effected,  and 


•WKiTEUtRTORD. 


THE  CREEK  "WAR. 


255 


both  bodies  moved  to  a  place  called  the  Hickory  Ground,  where, 
it  was  expected,  the  last  final  stand  would  be  made  by  the  In 
dians,  or  terms  of  submission  would  be  agreed  on.  The  principal 
chiefs  of  the  different  tribes  had  assembled  here,  and,  on  the  ap 
proach  of  the  army,  sent  a  deputation  to  treat  for  peace.  Among 
them  was  Weatherford,  celebrated  equally  for  his  talents  and 
cruelty,  who  had  directed  the  massacre  at  Fort  Mimms.  It  had 
been  the  intention  of  General  Jackson,  to  inflict  a  signal  punish 
ment  upon  him,  if  ever  in  his  power.  Struck,  however,  with  the 
bold  and  nervous  eloquence  of  this  fearless  savage,  and  persuaded 
of  the  sincerity  of  his  wishes  for  peace,  he  dismissed  him  without 
injury.  He  shortly  afterwards  became  the  instrument  of  restor 
ing  peace,  which  was  concluded  by  the  total  submission  of  the 
Indians.  They  agreed  to  retire  in  the  rear  of  the  army,  and  oc 
cupy  the  country  to  the  east  of  the  Coosa,  while  a  line  of  Ameri 
can  posts  was  established  from  Tennessee  and  Georgia,  to  the 
Alabama,  and  the  power  and  resources  of  these  tribes  were  thus 
effectually  destroyed. 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 

THE   SEMINOLE   WAR   OP   1816   AND   '17. 

AFTER  the  close  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  in  1815,  when 
the  British  forces  were  withdrawn  from  the  Floridas,  Edward 
Nicholls,  formerly  a  colonel,  and  James  Woodbine,  a  captain  in 
the  British  service,  who  had  both  been  engaged  in  exciting  the 
Indians  and  negroes  to  hostility,  remained  in  the  territory  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  combinations  against  the  southwestern 
frontier  of  the  United  States.  Nicholls  even  went  so  far  as  to 
assume  the  character  of  a  British  agent,  promising  the  Creeks  the 
assistance  of  the  British  forces  if  they  would  rise  and  assert  their 
claim  to  the  land  which  had  been  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

As  an  aid  in  effecting  their  purposes,  Nicholls  and  Woodbine 
erected  a  fort  on  the  Appalachicola  river,  between  East  and  West 
Florida,  as  a  rendezvous  for  runaway  negroes  and  hostile  In 
dians.  In  July,  1816,  upwards  of  four  hundred  negroes  and 
Indians  were  collected  at  this  place,  which  was  strong  by  its 
position,  well  supplied  with  ammunition  and  provisions,  and  with 
twelve  pieces  of  artillery.  To  break  up  this  horde  of  outlaws, 
Colonel  Clinch,  with  a  detachment  of  United  States  troops  and 
five  hundred  friendly  Indians,  under  the  celebrated  Mclntosh, 
proceeded  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Appalachicola,  and  laid 
siege  to  the  fort  on  the  land  side.  After  exacting  an  oath  from 
(256) 


THE   SEMINOLE  WAR  OF   1816-17. 


257 


GENERAL  GAINES. 


their  followers  not  to  suffer  an  American  to  approach  the  fort 
alive,  Nicholls  and  Woodbine  left  the  fort  to  their  keeping. 

To  supply  Colonel  Clinch's  forces  with  munitions  and  provi 
sions  for  the  siege,  two  schooners,  from  New  Orleans,  proceeded 
up  the  river  on  the  10th  of  July,  under  convoy  of  two  gun  boats. 
Near  the  fort,  a  watering  party  of  seven  men  from  the  schooners, 
was  surprised  by  a  party  of  the  enemy.  Five  were  killed,  one 
escaped,  and  one  was  captured,  tortured  and  put  to  death.  The 
commander  of  the  gun  boats  was  advised  not  to  attempt  any 
offensive  operations;  but  he  advanced  near  enough  to  commence 
the  firing  of  hot  shot,  one  of  which,  entering  the  principal  maga- 


MAJOR  (AFTERWARDS  GENERAL) 


zine,  blew  up  the  fort.  The  destruction  was  complete.  Two 
hundred  and  seventy  of  the  enemy  were  killed,  most  of  the 
remainder  badly  wounded,  and  only  three  of  the  whole  number 
remained  unhurt.  An  immense  quantity  of  arms  and  ammuni 
tion  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  fortunate  victors ;  and  two  chiefs, 
who  had  directed  the  torture  of  the  American  prisoners,  were 
given  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Mclntosh's  Indians.  The  savage 
horde  of  West  Florida  was  thus  broken  up,  and  the  war  termi 
nated  in  this  quarter. 

In  the  fall  of  1817,  the  family  of  Mr.  Garrett,  in  East  Florida, 
was  attacked  during  his  absence  from  home,  and  his  wife  and 
two  children  butchered.  Soon  after,  ji  man  iinmcd  McKrimmon, 
was  captured,  and  tied  to  the  stake  preparatory  to  being  burned. 
He  was  rescued  only  through  the  intercession  of  one  Milly, 
daughter  of  the  chief  IliUislmgo,  who,  like  Pocahontas,  rushed 


THE   SEMINOLE  WAR  OF   1816-17.  259 

towards  her  father,  and  implored  him  to  spare  the  prisoner. 
Being  subsequently  ransomed,  he  married  his  deliverer. 

In  November,  General  Gaines,  commander  in  Florida,  received 
orders  from  Washington,  to  negotiate  with  the  Creeks,  in  order 
to  induce  them  to  remove  to  the  country  given  to  them  by  the 
United  States.  This  the  Indians  refused  to  do;  and  when  their 
chief,  Hornetlimed,  was  summoned  by  the  general  to  appear  at 
the  fort,  he  answered  by  a  haughty  defiance.  Next  day,  Major 
Twiggs  was  sent  against  the  Indian  town  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men.  After  repelling  an  attack  on  the  road  and  killing 
several  of  the  assailants,  he  reached  tjie  town  and  found  it  de 
serted. 

After  this  affair,  General  Gaines  despatched  Major  Muhlen- 
burg,  from  the  headquarters  at  Fort  Scott,  to  Mobile,  with  three 
vessels,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  provisions.  Beside  the  crew, 
he  had  on  board  a  number  of  volunteers'  wives  and  children. 
Sickness  obliged  him  to  halt  on  the  Appalachicola,  where  he  was 
soon  reinforced  by  forty  men,  under  Lieutenant  ScottV  The 
major  detached  half  of  the  crew,  for  his  own  use,  and  placing 
seven  women,  four  children,  and  his  sick  on  board  the  lieutenants' 
boat,  he  sent  him  back  to  Fort  Scott.  When  near  Flint  river, 
the  party  was  attacked  by  some  savages,  under  Hornetlimed,  and 
all  were  killed  except  six  soldiers,  who  escaped,  and  one  woman 
made  prisoner.  The  scalps  were  taken  to  the  Mickasuky  village. 

On  receiving  intelligence  of  this  outrage,  the  secretary  of  war 
wrote  to  General  Jackson,  ordering  him  to  repair  immediately  to 
Fort  Scott,  and  take  charge  of  the  war.  Eight  hundred  men 
were  given  to  him,  with  authority  to  draw  volunteers  from  the 
neighboring  states,  should  that  number  be  insufficient  for  the 
campaign.  This  communication  reached  General  Jackson,  Jan 
uary  12th,  1818.  He  then  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Ten 
nessee  volunteers,  to  join  him  in  the  coming  campaign.  This 
was  effectual,  and  a  number  were  soon  on  their  way  to  Fort  Scott. 
On  the  9th  of  March,  the  general  himself  arrived  there,  having 
on  the  road,  mustered  one  thousand  militia. 

Finding  the  garrison  destitute  of  provisions,  he  determined  to 
win  supplies  from  the  enemy.  As  he  pushed  forward  to  the 
Appalachicola,  he  was  joined  by  General  Gaines,  and  built  Fort 
Gadsden  on  the  spot  where  the  Indian  fort  which  was  blown  up 
by  Colonel  Clinch  had  stood.  On  the  1st  of  April,  he  wa3 
joined  by  the  Tennessee  men.  The  same  day  he  drove  back  a 
party  of  Indians  and  took  possession  of  their  village.  Numerous 
scalps  were  found  suspended  on  poles  and  in  the  wigwams. 

About  this  time,  a  party,  numbering  five  hundred  Indians  and 
negroes,  surrounded  the  Spanish  fort,  St.  Marks,  and  demanded 
its  surrender.  This  post  was  one  of  great  importance,  being 


260 


INDIAN  WARS. 


strongly  built,  and  having  served  formerly  as  the  main  depot  of 
the  Indians,  and  the  scene  of  all  their  councils.  As  the  Spanish 
garrison  was  very  weak,  Jackson  determined  to  anticipate  the 
enemy,  and  accordingly  marched  to  the  fort,  and  took  possession 
without  opposition,  sending  the  garrison  and  authorities  to  Pensa- 
cola.  Here  he  captured,  the  chiefs  Hornetlimed  and  Hillishago, 
both  of  whom  were  hung.  Arbuthnot  was  also  captured. 

After  garrisoning  the  captured  station,  General  Jackson  pro 
ceeded  against  the  Suwanee  towns,  where  he  arrived  April  16th. 
After  a  slight  resistance  in  which  two  Indians  were  taken  and 
eleven  killed,  the  settlement  was  taken,  the  huts  destroyed,  and 
some  provisons  secured.  Two  days  after,  Ambrister  was  cap 
tured.  On  the  22d  a  court  of  inquiry  convened  for  the  trial  of 
this  man  and  Arbuthnofc,  and,  after  six  days'  session,  found!  them 


THE  SEMINOLE  WAR  OF  1816-17.  261 

guilty  of  inciting  the  Indians  to  aggression,  and  gave  as  their 
opinion  that  they  were  worthy  of  death.  General  Jackson  sen 
tenced  Arbuthnot  to  be  hung,  and  Ambrister  to  be  shot.  The 
sentence  was  executed  on  the  29th.  On  the  same  day  the 
general  returned  to  Fort  Gadsden. 

Intelligence  now  arrived  that  the  defeated  Seminoles  were 
mustering  near  Pensacola.  It  was  also  rumored  that  they  were 
assisted  and  encouraged  by  the  Spanish  garrison  at  that  place. 
Although  Spain  was  then  at  peace  with  the  United  States,  Gen 
eral  Jackson  resolved  on  marching  into  the  territory,  and  cap 
turing  the  garrison  at  Pensacola.  Accordingly  he  left  Fort 
Gadsden  on  the  10th  of  May,  at  the  head  of  twelve  hundred 
men,  and  on  the  22d  arrived  near  Pensacola,  On  notifying  the 
Spanish  governor,  he  was  ordered  to  quit  the  country.  Disre 
garding  this,  he  entered  the  city  on  the  24th,  and  immediately 
commenced  operations  for  assaulting  Fort  Barrancas,  whither 
the  governor  with  his  small  force  had  retired.  A  bombardment 
of  this  was  kept  up  until  the  27th,  when  it  surrendered,  and 
the  Spanish  authorities  were  sent  to  Havana.  Soon  after  Gen 
eral  Jackson  took  possession  of  the  whole  territory,  garrisoned 
different  stations,  and  broke  up  all  the  Indian  villages.  He  then 
retired  to  the  Hermitage,  in  Tennessee,  leaving  the  command  with 
General  Gaines,  who,  under  his  orders,  speedily  took  possession 
of  St.  Augustine. 

President  Monroe,  in  his  message  of  November,  1818,  thus 
speaks  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Spanish  Florida. 

"  A  state  of  things  has  existed  in  the  Floridas,  the  tendency 
of  which  has  been  obvious  to  all  who  have  paid  the  slightest 
attention  to  the  progress  of  affairs  in  that  quarter.  Throughout 
the  whole  .of  those  provinces  to  which  the  Spanish  title  extends, 
the  government  of  Spain  has  scarcely  been  felt.  Its  authority 
has  been  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  walls  of  Pensacola 
and  St.  Augustine,  within  which  only  small  garrisons  have  been 
maintained.  Adventurers  from  every  country,  fugitives  from 
justice,  and  absconding  slaves,  have  found  an  asylum  there. 
Several  tribes  of  Indians,  strong  in  the  number  of  their  warriors, 
remarkable  for  their  ferocity,  and  whose  settlements  extend  to 
our  limits,  inhabit  those  provinces.  These  different  hordes  of 
people,  connected  together,  disregarding,  on  the  one  side,  the 
authority  of  Spain,  and  protected  by  an  imaginary  line  which 
separates  Florida  from  the  United  States,  have  violated  our  laws 
prohibiting  the  introduction  of  slaves,  have  practised  various 
frauds  on  our  revenue,  and  committed  every  kind  of  outrage  OH 
our  peaceable  citizens,  which  their  proximity  to  us  enabled  them 
to  perpetrate.  The  invasion  of  Amelia  Island  last  year  by  a 
small  band  of  adventurers,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty 


262 


INDIAN   WARS. 


PRESIDENT  MONBOE. 


in  number,  who  wrested  it  from  the  inconsiderable  Spanish 
force  stationed  there,  and  held  it  several  months,  during  which 
a  single  effort  only  was  made  to  recover  it,  which  failed,  clearly 
proves  how  completely  extinct  the  Spanish  authority  had  become ; 
as  the  conduct  of  those  adventurers  while  in  possession  of  the 
island  as  distinctly  shows  the  pernicious  purposes  for  which  their 
combination  had  been  formed." 

The  forcible  occupation  of  a  neutral  territory,  elicited  much 
attention  in  the  United  States,  and  subjected  General  Jackson 
to  much  censure.  The  government  promptly  surrendered  the 
captured  posts  to  the  Spanish  crown,  but  did  not  think  proper 
to  call  the  general  to  account  for  his  actions.  The  Seminole 
war,  was,  however,  ended  for  that  time;  and  the  cession  of  Flo 
rida  to  the  United  States  in  1819,  put  an  end  to  all  difficulties 
with  Spain. 


IK  IITOIAH  WARBIOB. 


BLACK  HAWK. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

BLACK    HAWK'S    WAR. 

WE  have  now  to  record  the  events  of  a  war  which  brought 
one  of  the  noblest  of  Indians  to  the  notice  and  admiration  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  Black  Hawk  was  an  able  and  pa 
triotic  chief.  With  the  intelligence  and  power  to  plan  a  great 
project,  and  to  execute  it,  he  united  the  lofty  spirit  which  secures 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  a  people.  He  was  born  about  the 
year  1767,  on  Rock  river,  Illinois.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
took  a  scalp  from  the  enemy,  and  was  in  consequence  promoted 
by  his  tribe  to  the  rank  of  a  brave. 

Engaging  soon  afterwards  in  an  expedition  against  the  Osages, 
he  fought  severaj  battles,  highly  distinguished  himself,  and 
brought  back  a  number  of  trophies.  His  reputation  being  thus 
established,  he  frequently  led  war  parties  against  the  enemies  of 
his  tribe,  and  was,  in  almost  every  case,  successful.  The  influ 
ence  and  experience  he  thus  acquired,  were  fitting  him  for  a 
contest  in  which,  though  unfortunate,  he  was  to  acquire  a  lasting 
fame. 

The  treaty  concluded  in  1804,  by  Governor  Harrison,  with 

(265) 


266  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  by  which  these  tribes  ceded  their  lands  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  was  agreed  to  by  a  few  chiefs,  without  the 
knowledge  or  consent  of  the  nation.  Although  this  gave  rise  to 
much  dissatisfaction  among  the  Indians,  no  outbreak  occurred, 
until  the  United  States  government  erected  Fort  Madison  upon 
the  Mississippi..  An  attempt  was  then  made  to  cut  off  the  garrison, 
and  from  that  time,  the  whites  looked  upon  the  Indians  as  ene 
mies,  and  so  treated  them  whenever  opportunity  offered. 

Previous  to  this,  Illinois  had  been  admitted  into  the  Union  as 
a  state  j  and,  attracted  by  the  fertile  sail  of  the  country,  emi 
grants  flocked  into  it  and  soon  surrounded  the  land  occupied  by 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  As  they  thought  the  proximity  of  the  In 
dians  dangerous,  the  emigrants  began  to  commit  outrages  intended 
to  hasten  their  departure.  In  1827,  when  the  tribes  were  absent 
from  home  on  a  hunting  excursion,  some  of  the  whites  set  fire  to 
their  village,  by  which  forty  houses  were  consumed.  With  ad 
mirable  forbearance,  the  Indians  paid  little  attention  to  this  dis 
graceful  conduct,  but  quietly  rebuilt  their  dwellings,  raised  the 
fences  which  had  been  broken  down,  and  saved  as  much  of  their 
corn  as  was  possible. 

The  American  government  now  determined  to  sell  the  land 
occupied  by  these  tribes,  and  they  were  accordingly  advised  to 
remove.  Keokuk,  the  chief,  with  a  majority  of  the  nation,  de 
termined  to  do  so;  but  Black  Hawk,  and  the  party  which  he  had 
gained  over  to  himself,  resolved  to  remain  at  all  hazards. 

Meanwhile  the  whites  committed  greater  acts  of  violence  upon 
the  Indians  than  before.  The  latter  at  last  took  up  arms,  and  a 
war  would  certainly  have  taken  place,  had  not  General  Gaines, 
commander  of  the  western  division  of  the  army,  hastened  to  the 
scene  of  action.  'This  able  and  prudent  officer  immediately  con 
vened  a  council  of  the  principal  chiefs,  in  which  it  was  agreed 
that  the  Indians  should  instantly  remove.  They  accordingly 
crossed  the  river  and  settled  on  its  western  bank.  Notwithstand 
ing  this  measure,  a  majority  of  the  Indians  were  on  peaceful 
terms  with  the  United  States.  But  Black  Hawk  and  his  band 
determined  on  returning  to  Illinois,  alleging  that  they  had  been 
invited  by  the  Potawatamies,  residing  on  Kock  river,  to  spend 
the  summer  with  them  and  plant  corn  on  their  lands.  They 
recrossed  the  river,  and  marched  toward  tho  above  named  In 
dians,  but  without  attempting  to  harm  any  one  upon  the  road. 
The  traveller  passed  by  them  without  receiving  any  injury,  and 
the  inmates  of  the  lowly  hut  experienced  no  outrage.  There  is 
little  doubt  but  this  amicable  disposition  would  have  continued 
had  not  the  whites  been  the  first  to  shed  blood.  Five  or  six  In 
dians,  in  advance  of  the  main  party,  were  captured,  and  except 
ing  one  who  escaped,  put  to  death  by  a  battalion  of  mounted 


BLACKHAWK'S  WAR.  267 

inilitia.  That  one  brought  the  news  to  Black  Hawk,  who  im 
mediately  determined  on  revenge.  He  accordingly  planned  an 
ambuscade  into  which  the  militia  was  enticed,  fired  upon,  and 
fourteen  of  their  number  killed.  The  remainder  fled  in  disorder. 

As  war  had  now  begun,  the  Indians  seemed  resolved  to  do  all 
the  mischief  in  their  power.  Accordingly  they  divided  into  small 
parties,  proceeded  in  different  directions,  and  fell  upon  the  settle 
ments  which  were  at  that  time  thinly  scattered  over  the  greater 
part  of  Illinois.  By  this  means  they  Committed  such  outrages 
that  the  whole  state  was  in  the  greatest  excitement.  Governor 
Reynolds  ordered  out  two  thousand  additional  militia,  who,  on 
the  10th  of  June,  assembled  at  Hennepin,  on  the  Illinois  river, 
and  were  soon  engaged  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  1832,  a  party  attacked  a  small  settlement 
on  Indian  creek,  killed  fifteen  persons,  and  took  considerable 
plunder.  On  the  14th  of  June,  five  persons  were  killed  near 
Galena.  General  Dodge  being  in  the  neighborhood,  immediately 
marched  with  his  mounted  men  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  After 
advancing  about  three  miles,  he  discovered  twelve  Indians,  whom 
he  supposed  to  be  part  of  those  who  committed  the  murders. 
He  commenced  an  active  pursuit,  and  drove  the  Indians  into  a 
swamp.  The  mounted  men  rushed  in  and  soon  met  them.  No 
resistance  was  made ;  every  Indian  was  killed,  their  scalps  taken 
off  and  borne  away  in  triumph. 

Meanwhile,  General  Atkinson  was  pursuing  the  main  party, 
under  Black  Hawk,  who  was  encamped  near  the  Four  Lakes. 
Instead  of  crossing  the  country  to  retreat  beyond  the  Mississippi 
as  was  expected,  he  descended  the  Wisconsin,  to  escape  in  that 
direction,  by  which  means  General  Dodge  came  upon  his  track 
and  commenced  a  vigorous  pursuit.  On  the  21st  of  July,  the 
general,  with  about  two  hundred  men,  besides  Indians,  overtook 
him  on  the  Wisconsin,  forty  miles  from  Fort  Winnebago.  The 
Indians  were  in  the  act  of  crossing  the  river.  After  a  short 
engagement  they  retreated,  and  it  being  dark  the  whites  could 
not  pursue  them,  without  disadvantage  to  themselves.  In  this 
encounter  Black  Hawk's  party  lost,  as  is  supposed,  about  forty 
men. 

The  Indians  were  now  in  a  truly  deplorable  condition ;  several 
of  them  were  greatly  emaciated  for  want  of  food,  and  some  even 
starved  to  death.  In  the  pursuit  previous  to  the  battle,  the  sol 
diers  found  several  lying  dead  on  the  road.  Yet  so  far  from  being 
subdued  they  resolved  to  continue  hostilities  as  long  as  they  were 
able. 

Meanwhile  an  army  under  General  Scott,  destined  for  the  sub 
jugation  of  Black  Hawk,  and  the  removal  of  all  the  north 
western  Indians  to  lands  beyond  the  Mississippi,  had  been 


268  INDIAN  WARS. 

attacked  by  an  enemy  far  more  fatal  than  the  Indians.  "With 
about  one  thousand  regular  troops,  Scott  sailed  from  Buffalo  in 
a  fleet  of  steamboats  across  Lake  Erie  for  Chicago.  This  was 
early  in  July.  On  the  8th  of  that  month,  the  Asiatic  cholera 
appeared  on  board  the  vessel  in  which  were  General  Scott,  his 
staff,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty  soldiers.  In  six  days  fifty- 
two  men  died,  and  soon  after  eighty  were  put  on  shore  sick  at 
Chicago. 

In  the  summer  Scott  left  Chicago  with  but  about  four  hundred 
effective  men,  and  hurrying  on  to  the  Mississippi,  joined  Gen 
eral  Atkinson  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  immediately  after'  the  battle, 
near  the  Badare  river,  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  Black 
Hawk. 

Previous  to  this  affair,  a  captured  squaw  had  informed  the 
whites  that  Black  Hawk  intended  to  proceed  to  the  west  side  of 
the  Mississippi,  above  Prairie  du  Chien — the  horsemen  striking 
across  the  country,  whilst  the  others  proceeded  by  the  Wiscon 
sin.  A  number  of  the  latter  were  made  prisoners  on  the  road. 

Meanwhile,  several  circumstances  transpired  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  the  main  body  under  Black  Hawk.  The  first  was  his 
falling  in  with  the  Warrior  steamboat,  (August  1st,)  when  in 
the  act  of  crossing  the  Mississippi.  Wishing  to  escape,  he  dis 
played  two  white  flags,  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  his 
men  come  to  the  river  without  arms  and  made  signs  of  submis 
sion.  The  commander  of  the  boat  ordered  his  men  to  fire,  which 
they  did,  and  the  fire  was  returned.  The  engagement  lasted  an 
hour,  when  the  wood  of  the  steamboat  failing,  it  proceeded  to  the 
Prairie.  The  Indians  lost  twenty-three  killed,  and  a  number 
wounded ;  the  whites  had  one  wounded. 

Next  day,  after  a  toilsome  and  dangerous  march,  General  Atkin 
son  overtook  Black  Hawk,  and  a  furious  contest  ensued.  In  order 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  Indians,  Generals  Posey  and  Alex 
ander,  with  the  right  wing,  marched  down  this  river,  and  sta 
tioned  themselves  near  the  encampment.  The  rough  nature  of 
the  ground  afforded  every  facility  for  the  Indians  to  make  a  strong 
defence,  and  Black  Hawk  took  advantage  of  it.  The  battle  lasted 
three  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  the  Indians  were  totally 
routed  and  dispersed,  killed  or  captured.  Black  Hawk  succeeded 
in  escaping.  The  loss  of  the  American  troops  in  killed  and 
wounded  was  twenty-seven  men.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  could 
not  be  ascertained;  but  it  was  supposed  that  their  killed  amounted 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  of  whom  about  fifty  were  women 
and  children. 

This  battle  finished  the  war,  for,  although  Black  Hawk  escaped, 
his  warriors  either  deserted  him  or  were  killed  by  the  Sioux  In 
dians,  then  at  war  with  the  Sacs.  Finally  when  hope  had  fled,  Black 


BLACKHAWK'S  WAR. 


269 


GENERAL  SCOTT. 


Hawk  surrendered  himself  to  the  agent  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  In 
his  speech  upon  this  occasion,  he  regretted  his  being  obliged  to 
close  the  war  so  soon,  without  haying  given  the  whites  much 
more  trouble.  He  asserted  that  he  had  done  nothing  of  which 
he  had  any  reason  to  be  ashamed,  but  that  an  Indian  who  was 
as  bad  as  the  whites  would  not  be  allowed  to  live  in  his  commu 
nity.  His  concluding  words  are  remarkable  for  pathos  and  dig 
nified  sorrow. 

"  Farewell,  my  nation !  Black  Hawk  tried  to  save  you,  and 
revenge  your  wrongs.  He  drank  the  blood  of  some  of  the  whites. 
He  has  been  taken  prisoner,  and  his  flames  are  stopped.  He  can 
do  no  more.  He  is  near  his  end.  His  sun  is  setting,  and  he  will 
rise  no  more.  Farewell  to  Black  Hawk  !" 

Immediately  after  the  battle  which  decided  the  struggle,  Gen 
eral  Scott  joined  General  Atkinson,  but  their  operations  were 
hindered  for  some  weeks  b}7  the  dreadful  pestilence  which  had 


270 


INDIAN  WARS. 


fearfully  thinned  the  ranks  of  the  army.  Late  in  September, 
negotiations  were  commenced  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  so 
skilfully  were  they  conducted  by  General  Scott,  that  a  region  of 
five  million  of  acres  of  land  was  obtained  from  the  Indians  on 
terms  satisfactory  to  both  parties. 

When  •  peace  had  been  secured,  Black  Hawk  was  taken  to 
Washington,  where  he  had  an  interview  with  President  Jackson. 
He  was  then  conducted  through  the  principal  Atlantic  cities,  and 
every  where  received  with  the  most  marked  attention  and  hospi 
tality.  He  was  then  set  at  liberty  and  returned  to  his  own  na 
tion,  professing  friendship  to  the  whites.  Dlack  Hawk  died  on 
the  3d  of  October,  1838,  at  his  village  on  the  DCS  Homes  river. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    SECOND    SEMINOLE   WAR. 

THE  second  war  against  the  Indians  and  runaway  negroes  in 
Florida  commenced  in  1835.  A  treaty  had  been  concluded  with 
the  Seminole  warriors,  by  which  they  agreed  to  remoye  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  A  party  of  the  Indians  had  proceeded  to  the 
territory  appointed  for  their  reception,  and  reported  favorably 
upon  their  return.  Every  thing  promised  a  speedy  conformity 
to  the  wishes  of  the  government.  But  at  this  juncture,  John 
Hext,  the  most  influential  chief  of  the  tribe,  died,  and  was  suc 
ceeded  in  power,  by  Osceola.  This  chief  wielded  his  power  for 
far  different  purposes.  Being  opposed  to  emigration,  he  inflamed 
the  minds  of  his  people  against  the  whites,  and  used  every  art 
to  induce  them  to  remain  on  their  old  hunting  grounds.  His 
conduct  became  so  violent,  that  he  was  arrested  by  the  Indian 
agent,  and  put  in  irons;  but,  promising  to  give  up  his  opposi 
tion,  he  was  set  free. 

On  the  19th  of  July,  1835,  some  Indians  who  had  met  by  ap 
pointment  near  liogstown  settlement,  for  the  purpose  of  hanging, 
were  attacked  by  a  party  of  white  moa  and  flogged  with  cow- 

^  (-271) 


)  • 


272 


INDIAN  WARS. 


hide  whips.  While  this  was  going  on,  two  other  Indians  ar 
rived,  who  raised  the  war  whoop  and  fired  upon  the  whites.  The 
firing  was  returned,  one  of  the  Indians  killed,  and  the  other 
wounded.  Three  of  the  whites  were  also  wounded. 

On  the  evening  of  August  6th,  Dalton,  the  mail  carrier  from 
Tampa  Bay  to  Camp  King,  was  murdered  by  a  party  of  Indians. 
General  Thompson,  the  Indian  agent,  immediately  convened  the 
chiefs  and  demanded  that  the  offenders  should  be  delivered  up 
to  justice.  The  chiefs  promised  to  comply.  But  did  not,  and  it 
soon  became  evident,  that  a  terrible  storm  was  about  to  burst 
upon  the  settlements  of  Florida.  The  savages  retired  into  the 
wilds  and  forests,  and,  as  much  as  possible,  avoided  all  inter 
course  with  the  whites. 

In  September,  Charles  Amathla,  a  friendly  chief  of  great  in 
fluence,  while  journeying  with  his  daughter,  was  shot  by  some 
Mickasukies,  led  by  Osceola.  Similar  outrages  increased  in  num.- 


ATTACK  ON  MB,  COOLEY'3 


THE   SECOND   SEMINOLE  WAR.  275 

Der.  The  interior  settlements  were  abandoned;  families  deserted 
the  fruits  of  many  years'  labor,  and  fled  to  other  states.  General 
Clinch's  force  numbered  but  one  hundred  and  sixty  men;  and 
receiving  no  assistance  from  President  Jackson,  he  obtained  six 
hundred  and  fifty  militia  from  the  executive  of  Florida.  With 
this  reinforcement,  he  marched  against  the  station  on  the  Ouith- 
lacooche  river. 

On  the  23d  of  December,  the  companies  of  Captains  Gardiner 
and  Frazer,  of  the  United  States  army,  marched  under  the  com 
mand  of  Major  Dade,  from  Tampa  Bay  for  Camp  King.  On 
the  road,  Dade  wrote  to  Major  Belton,  urging  him  to  forward  a 
six-pounder,  which  had  been  left  four  miles  behind,  in  conse 
quence  of  the  failure  of  the  team  which  was  to  have  been  used 
in  transporting  it.  Three  horses  were  purchased  with  the  neces 
sary  harness,  and  it  joined  the  column  that  night.  From  this 
time  no  more  was  heard  of  the  detachment  until  the  29th  of  De 
cember,  when  John  Thomas,  one  of  the  soldiers,  returned,  and 
on  the  81st,  Rawson  Clarke.  The  melancholy  fate  of  his  com 
panions  was  related  by  the  latter  as  follows : 

"  It  was  eight  o'clock.  Suddenly  I  heard  a  rifle  shot  in  the 
direction  of  the  advance  guard,  and  this  was  immediately  fol 
lowed  by  a  musket  shot  from  that  quarter.  Captain  Frazer  had 
ridden  by  me  a  moment  before,  in  that  direction.  I  never  saw 
him  afterwards.  I  had  not  time  to  think  of  the  meaning  of  these 
shots  before  a  volley,  as  if  from  a  thousand  rifles,  was  poured  in 
upon  us  from  the  front,  and  all  along  our  left  flank.  I  looked 
around  me,  and  it  seemed  as  if  I  was  the  only  one  left  standing 
in  the  right  wing.  Neither  could  I,  until  several  other  volleys 
had  been  fired  at  us,  see  an  enemy — and  when  I  did,  I  could 
only  see  their  heads  and  arms  peering  out  from  the  long  grass, 
far  and  near,  and  from  behind  the  pine  trees.  The  ground 
seemed  to  me  an  open  pine  barren,  entirely  destitute  of  any 
hammock.  On  our  right  and  a  little  to  our  rear  was  a  large 
pond  of  water  some  distance  off.  All  around  us  were  heavy  pine 
trees,  very  open,  particularly  towards  the  left,  and  abounding 
with  long  high  grass.  The  first  fire  of  the  Indians  was  the  most 
destructive,  seemingly  killing  or  disabling  one-half  of  our  men. 

"  We  promptly  threw  ourselves  behind  trees,  and  opened  a 
sharp  fire  of  musketry.  I  for  one,  never  fired  without  seeing  my 
man,  that  is,  his  head  and  shoulders.  The  Indians  chiefly  fired 
lying  or  squatting  in  the  grass.  Lieutenant  Bassinger  fired  five 
©r  six  pounds  of  canister  from  the  cannon.  This  appeared  to 
frighten  the  Indians,  and  they  retreated  over  a  little  hill  to  our 
left,  one-half  or  three-quarters  of  a  mile  off,  after  having  fired 
not  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  rounds.  We  immediately  began 
to  fell  trees,  and  to  erect  a  triangular  breastwork.  Some  of 


876  INDIAN  WARS. 

us.  went  forward  to  gather  the  cartridge  boxes  from  the  dead,  and 
to  assist  the  wounded.  I  had  seen  Major  Dade  fall  to  the  ground 
by  the  first  volley,  and  his  horse  dashed  into  the  midst  of  the 
enemy.  Whilst  gathering  the  cartridges,  I  saw  Lieutenant 
Mudge,  sitting  with  his  back  reclining  against  a  tree,  and  evi 
dently  dying.  I  spoke  to  him,  but  he  did  not  answer.  The  in 
terpreter,  Louis,  it  is  said,  fell  by  the  first  fire. 

"  We  had  barely  raised  our  breastwork  knee  high,  when  we 
again  saw  the  Indians  advancing,  in  great  numbers,  over  the  hill 
to  our  left.  They  came  on  boldly  till  within  long  musket  shot, 
when  they  spread  themselves  from  tree  to  tree  to  surround  us. 
We  immediately  extended  as  light  infantry,  covering  ourselves 
by  the  trees,  and  opening  a  brisk  fire  from  cannon  and  musketry. 
I  do  not  think  that  the  former  could  have  done  much  mischief, 
the  Indians  were  so  scattered. 

"  Captain  Gardiner,  Lieutenant  Bassinger,  and  Dr.  Gatlen  were 
the  only  officers  left  unhurt  by  the  volley  which  killed  Major 
Dade.  Lieutenant  Henderson  had  his  left  arm  broken,  but  he 
continued  to  load  and  fire  his  musket,  resting  on  the  stump  until 
he  was  finally  shot  down.  Toward  the  close  of  the  second  attack, 
and  during  the  day  he  kept  up  his  spirits  and  cheered  the  men. 
Lieutenant  Keyes  had  both  his  arms  broken  in  the  first  attack; 
they  were  bound  up  and  slung  in  a  handkerchief,  and  he  sat  for 
the  remainder  of  the  day,  until  he  was  killed,  reclining  against 
the  breastwork,  his  head  often  reposing  upon  it,  regardless  of 
every  thing  that  was  passing  around  him. 

"  Our  men  were  by  degrees  all  cut  down.  We  had  maintained 
a  steady  fire  from  eight  until  two  P.  M.,  and  allowing  three-quar 
ters  of  an  hour  interval  between  the  first  and  second  attack,  had 
been  pretty  busily  engaged  for  more  than  five  hours.  Lieutenant 
Bassinger  was  the  only  officer  left  alive,  and  he  severely  wounded. 
He  told  me,  as  the  Indians  approached,  to  lie  down  and  feign 
myself  dead.  I  looked  through  the  logs  and  saw  the  savages 
approaching  in  great  numbers.  A  heavy  made  Indian  of  middle 
stature,  painted  down  to  the  waist,  and  whom  I  supposed  to  have 
been  Micanope,  seemed  to  be  the  chief.  He  made  them  a 
speech,  frequently  pointing  to  the  breastwork.  At  length  they 
charged  into  the  work.  There  was  none  to  offer  resistance,  and 
they  did  not  seem  to  suspect  the  wounded  being  alive — offering 
no  indignity,  but  stepping  about  carefully,  quietly  stripping  off 
our  accoutrements,  and  carrying  away  our  arms.  They  then  re 
tired  in  a  body,  in  the  direction  from  whence  they  came. 

"  Immediately  after  their  retreat,  forty  or  fifty  negroes  and 
Indians  on  horseback,  galloped  up,  alighted,  and"  having  tied 
their  beasts,  commenced,  with  horrid  shouts  and  yells,  the 
butchering  of  the  wounded,  together  with  an  indiscriminate 


THE   SECOND   SEMINOLE  WAR. 


279 


plunder,  stripping  the  dead  of  clothing,  watches,  and  money, 
and  splitting  open  the  heads  of  all  who  showed  the  least  signs  of 
life,  with  their  axes  and  knives.  This  bloody  work  was  accom 
panied  with  obscene  and  taunting  derision,  and  oft  repeated  shouts. 

li  Lieutenant  Bassinger,  hearing  the  negroes  and  Indians  butcher 
ing  the  wounded,  at  length  sprang  up,  and  asked  them  to  spare 
his  life.  They  met  him  with  the  blows  of  their  axes,  arid  their 
fiendish  laughter.  Having  been  wounded  in  five  different  places 
myself,  I  was  pretty  well  covered  with  blood ;  and  two  scratches 
that  I  had  received  on  the  head  gave  me  the  appearance  of  hav 
ing  been  shot  through  the  brain :  for  the  negroes,  after  catching 
me  up  by  the  heels,  threw  me  down,  exclaiming  that  I  was  dead 
enough.  Then,  stripping  me  of  my  clothes,  shoes,  and  hat,  they 
left  me.  After  serving  all  the  dead  in  this  manner,  they  trun 
dled  off  the  cannon  in  the  direction  the  Indians  had  gone,  and 
went  away.  I  saw  them  shoot  down  the  oxen  in  their  gear  and 
burn  the  wagon. 

"One  of  the  other  soldiers  who  escaped,  says  they  threw  the 


280  INDIAN   WARS. 

cannon  in  a  pond,  and  burned  its  carriage  also.  Shortly  after 
the  negroes  went  away,  one  Wilson,  of  Captain  Gardiner's  com 
pany,  crept  from  under  some  of  the  dead  bodies,  and  seemed  to 
be  hardly  hu^jb  at  all.  He  asked  me  to  go  with  him  back  to  the 
fort,  and  I  was  going  to  follow  him,  when?  as  he  jumped  over 
the  breastwork,  an  Indian  sprang  from  behind  a  tree  and  shot 
him  down.  I  then  lay  quiet  until  nine  o'clock  that  night,  when 
D.  Long,  the  only  living  soul  beside  myself,  and  I,  started  upon 
our  journey.  We  knew  it  was  nearest  to  go  to  Fort  King,  but 
we  did  not  know  the  way,  and  had  seen  the  enemy  retreat  in 
that  direction.  As  I  came  out  I  saw  Dr.  Gatlen  lying  stripped 
amongst  the  dead.  The  last  I  saw  of  him  whilst  living,  was 
kneeling  behind  the  breastwork,  with  two  double  barrel  guns 
by  him,  and  he  said,  '  Well,  I  have  got  four  barrels  for  them !' 
Captain  Gardiner,  after  being  severely  wounded,  cried  out,  'I 
can  give  you  no  more  orders,  my  lads,  do  your  best !'  I  last 
saw  a  negro  spurn  his  body,  saying,  with  an  oath,  *  that's  one  of 
their  officers/ 

"  My  comrade  and  myself  got  along  quite  well  until  the  next 
day,  when  we  met  an  Indian  on  horseback,  armed  with  a  rifle, 
coming  up  the  road.  Our  only  chance  was  to  separate — we  did 
so.  I  took  the  right,  and  he  the  left  of  the  road.  The  Indian 
pursued  him.  Shortly  afterwards  I  heard  a  rifle  shot,  and  a 
little  after  another.  I  concealed  myself  among  some  scrub,  and 
saw  palmetto,  and  after  awhile  saw  the  Indian  pass  looking  for 
me.  Suddenly,  however,  he  put  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  went  off 
at  a  gallop  towards  the  road. 

"  I  made  something  of  a  circuit  before  I  struck  the  beaten 
track  again.  That  night,  I  was  a  good  deal  annoyed  by  the 
wolves,  who  had  scented  my  blood,  and  came  very  close  to  me. 
The  next  day,  the  30th,  I  reached  the  fort." 

Thus  perished  one  hundred  and  six  men,  under  circumstances 
of  hopelessness  and  misery,  rarely  equalled  in  modern  warfare. 
Intelligence  of  this  tragic  event  spread  a  degree  of  horror  through 
out  the  country,  lasting  and  powerful;  and  even  at  the  present 
day,  the  name  of  the  gallant,  ill-fated  Dade,  is  a  spell-word  to 
conjure  up  feelings  of  sorrow.  Three  of  the  whole  command 
escaped. 

On  the  6th  of  January,  1836,  thirty  Indians  attacked  the 
family  of  Mr.  Cooly,  on  New  river,  while  he  was  absent  from 
home.  They  murdered  Mrs.  Cooly,  three  children,  and  Mr. 
Flinter,  their  teacher.  During  this  transaction,  the  neighboring 
families  made  their  escape  into  the  more  thickly  settled  territory. 
Cooly  had  long  resided  among  the  Indians,  and  always  treated 
them  kindly,  and  this  renders  the  massacre  more  atrocious. 

Previous  to  this,  General  Clinch  fought  a  severe  engagement 


THE    SECOND    SEMINOLE   WAR.  281 

with  the  Indians,  near  the  Ouithlacooche  river.  He  marched 
from  Fort  King,  on  the  29th  of  December,  with  a  considerable 
force,  and  on  the  31st,  when  half  of  the  troops  had  crossed  the 
river,  the  battalion  of  regulars  were  attacked  by  a  large  force  of 
Indians,  led  by  Osceola.  The  regulars  met  the  attack  of  the 
vastly  superior  enemy  with  firmness.  The  action  lasted  nearly 
an  hour,  during  which  time  the  troops  made  three  brilliant 
charges,  driving  the  enemy  in  every  direction.  No  inducement 
could  prevail  on  the  remainder  of  the  army  that  had  crossed  the 
river,  to  return  and  assist  their  companions.  After  losing  nearly 
one-third  of  their  number,  the  regulars  succeeded  in  crossing  the 
river. 

Meanwhile,  the  eastern  settlements  in  the  neighborhood  of 
San  Angustine  were  ravaged  by  the  enemy,  many  of  the  in 
habitants  slain,  and  the  negroes  carried  away.  So  disastrous 
were  these  ravages,  that  in  East  Florida,  five  hundred  families 
were  driven  from  their  homes,  and  their  entire  possessions  de 
stroyed  by  the  Indians. 

General  Gaines,  as  commander  of  the  southern  division  of  the 
army,  was  actively  engaged  in  raising  a  body  of  troops.  He 
reached  Fort  King  on  the  22d  of  February,  and  thence  moved 
down  the  Ouithlacooche.  On  the  27th,  he  had  a  slight  skirmish 
with  the  enemy  at  General  Clinch's  crossing  place,  where  he  lost 
one  killed  and  eight  wounded.  Next  day  the  army  was  attacked, 
Lieutenant  Izard  mortally  wounded,  one  man  killed,  and  two 
others  wounded.  Skirmishing  was  renewed  on  the  29th  ;  one 
man  killed  and  thirty-three  wounded.  This  partisan  warfare  was 
continued  until  the  5th  of  March — the  United  States  troops 
losing  several  men  in  killed  and  wounded. 

On  the  5th,  a  number  of  Indians,  headed  by  Osceola,  appeared 
before.  General  Gaines's  camp,  and  expressed  their  willingness  to 
terminate  hostilities.  They  were  told  that  on  condition  of  re 
tiring  south  of  the  Ouithlacoochee,  and  attending  a  council  when 
called  on  by  the  United  States  commissioners,  they  should  not 
be  molested.  To  this  they  agreed;  but  at  this  moment  General 
Clinch,  who  had  been  summoned  by  express  from  Fort  Drane, 
encountered  their  main  body;  and  supposing  themselves  sur 
rounded  by  deliberate  stratagem,  they  fied  with  precipitation. 
This  unfortunate  accident  put  an  end  to  negotiations  for  that 
time.  Soon  after,  ascertaining  that  he  had  been  superseded, 
General  Gaines  transferred  the  command  to  General  Clinch,  who 
retired  with  his  whole  force  to  Fort  Drane. 

General  Scott  now  received  the  chief  command  in  Florida,  and 
commenced  a  new  plan  of  operations,  which,  as  is  believed,  would 
have  speedily  terminated  the  war;  but  unexpectedly  he  was 
superseded,  and  summoned  to  Washington  on  court-martial.  His 


282  INDIAN  WARS. 

trial  eventuated  in  full,  honorable  acquittal  from  all  blame,  but 
meanwhile  he  had  been  superseded  by  General  Jessup.  The 
measures  of  this  officer  were  unimportant. 

The  summer  and  fall  of  1837  passed  away  without  any  pros 
pect  of  a  reconciliation  with  the  Indians;  but  in  December, 
Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  who  commanded  a  regiment  of  Jessup' s 
troops,  came  upon  the  trail  of  the  Indians,  and  commenced  a 
vigorous  pursuit.  On  the  25th,  at  the  head  of  about  five  hun 
dred  men,  he  came  up  with  about  about  seven  hundred  Indians, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Okee-cho-bee  lake,  under  the  celebrated 
chiefs,  Alligator,  Sam  Jones,  and  Coacoochee.  This  battle  was 
sought  by  both  parties.  On  the  day  previous  to  the  engagement, 
the  colonel  had  received  a  challenge  from  Alligator,  informing 
him  of  his  position,  and  courting  an  attack.  The  Indians  were 
posted  in  a  thick  swamp,  covered  in  front  by  a  small  stream, 
whose  quicksands  rendered  it  almost  impassable.  Through  this 
the  Americans  waded,  sometimes  sinking  to  the  waist  in  mud 
and  water,  and  totally  unable  to  employ  their  horses.  On  reach 
ing  the  borders  of  the  hammock,  the  advance  received  a  heavy 
fire,  which  killed  their  leader,  (Colonel  Gentry,)  and  drove  them 
back  in  confusion.  The  main  body  then  rushed  into  action, 
attacking  the  enemy  under  a  galling  fire,  and  fought  from  half 
past  twelve  until  three  p.  M.,  although  exposed  to  the  full  range 
of  the  enemy's  fire.  With  one  exception,  every  officer  in  the 
sixth  infantry  was  shot  down,  and  one  of  the  companies  had  but 
four  members  untouched.  The  Indians  were  forced  from  their 
position,  and  driven  a  considerable  distance  toward  the  extremity 
of  Okee-cho-bee  lake. 

In  consequence  of  his  success  in  this  battle,  Colonel  Taylor 
was  enabled  to  advance  further  into  the  country  than  any  pre 
vious  commander  had  done.  But  the  difficulty  of  transporting 
supplies,  enabled  the  Seminoles  to  rest  secure  among  their  swamps 
and  forests,  and  rendered  the  termination  of  the  war  impracti 
cable.  In  April,  1838,  Taylor  was  appointed  to  the  chief  com 
mand  in  Florida,  with  the  rank  of  brevet  brigadier-general.  He 
skirmished  with  the  enemy,  but  could  never  again  force  them  to 
a  general  battle.  Bloodhounds  were  employed  to  trace  their 
hiding  places,  but  were  found  to  be  of  little  use  and  abandoned. 

A  series  of  the  most  horrible  outrages  were  committed  about 
this  time  by  the  savages.  Settlers  were  shot  down  while  sitting 
in  the  door  of  their  own  houses,  and,  sometimes,  the  houses  were 
surrounded  and  burned  while  whole  families  were  in  them.  On 
the  28th  of  July,  1839,  a  body  of  dragoons,  under  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Harney,  was  sent  to  the  Coloosahatchee,  to  establish  a 
trading  house,  in  conformity  with  Macomb's  treaty.  The  Indians 
had  manifested  a  friendly  disposition  for  some  time,  daily  visit- 


THE   SECOND   SEMINOLE  WAR.  283 

ing  the  camp  and  trading.  So  completely  had  they  lulled  the 
troops  into  security,  that  no  defence  was  erected  and  no  guard 
maintained.  The  camp  was  on  the  margin  of  the  river  At 
dawn,  on  the  23d  of  July,  the  savages  made  a  simultaneous 
attack  upon  the  camp  and  the  trading  house.  Those  who  escaped 
the  first  discharge  fled  naked  to  the  river,  and  escaped  in  some 
fishing  smacks.  Colonel  Harney  was  among  them.  While  de 
scending  the  river,  the  sergeant  and  four  others  were  called  to 
the  shore  by  a  well  known  Indian,  and  assured  that  they  would 
not  be  harmed.  They  complied,  and  were  butchered.  Altogether 
eighteen  were  tilled.  Colonel  Harney  afterwards  cautiously  ap 
proached  the  spot,  and  found  eleven  bodies  shockingly  mutilated, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  in  the  neighborhood,  dancing 
and  whooping  with  savage  triumph. 

In  1840,  the  Indians  accomplished  an  expedition  which  was 
creditable  to  their  enterprise,  but  was  attended  with  all  the  cir 
cumstances  of  horror  usual  in  Indian  warfare.  Indian  Key,  an 
island  of  about  seven  acres  in  extent,  about  thirty  miles  from  the 
southern  Atlantic  coast  of  Florida,  was  invested  by  seventeen 
boats,  containing  Indians,  headed  by  Chekekia.  Seven  of  the 
inhabitants — Mr.  Motte,  Mrs.  Motte,  Dr.  Perrine,  three  children 
and  a  slave,  were  murdered,  the  island  plundered  and  the  buildings 
burned.  The  rest  of  the  inhabitants  escaped  in  boats  to  a 
schooner.  This  was  one  of  the  boldest  conceived,  and  most  suc 
cessfully  executed,  enterprises  of  the  war. 

In  1840,  General  Taylor  requested  permission  to  retire  from 
Florida,  which  was  granted,  and  in  April,  General  Armistead 
was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  The  operations  of  this  officer  were 
necessarily  of  the  same  tedious  and  unsatisfactory  character  as 
most  of  his  predecessors  had  been,  and  in  May,  1841,  he  was 
succeeded  by  Colonel  Worth. 

This  officer  commenced  the  campaign  under  very  unfavorable 
circumstances,  having  no  less  than  twelve  hundred  men  sick  and 
unfit  for  duty.  On  assuming  command  he  is  said  to  have  named 
the  1st  of  January,  1842,  as  the  time  when  he  hoped  to  bring 
the  war  to  a  close. 

In  August,  the  famous  chief,  Wild  Cat,  surrendered  his  whole 
band,  including  Coacoochee  and  his  family,  at  Tampa.  On  the 
13th  the  example  was  followed  by  a  considerable  number  of  Hos- 
pitaki's  party,  and  next  month  by  many  of  the  Tallahassee  tribe. 
Subsequently,  various  chiefs  and  their  bands  were  regularly 
brought  in. 

Nothing,  however,  of  a  decisive  nature  took  place  until  the 
19th  of  April,  1842,  when  Colonel  Worth  found  the  enemy  in 
considerable  force,  strongly  fortified,  near  Okeehumphee  swamp. 
An  immediate  attack  was  made  and  the  Indians  totally  defeated. 


V 


284  INDIAN  WARS. 

Every  trail  made  in  their  flight  was  taken  and  pursued  until 
dark,  and  renewed  on  the  following  morning,  the  detachments 
marching  each  day,  some  twenty  and  some  thirty  miles.  The 
scene  of  this  battle  was  the  big  hammock  of  Palaklaklaha.  As 
a  reward  for  his  services  in  this  affair,  Worth  was  brevctted  by 
government,  brigadier-general.  Soon  after,  (May  4th.)  Hallush- 
Tustemuggee,  with  eighty  of  his  band,  came  to  Palatka  and  sub 
mitted,  and  on  the  12th  of  August,  Colonel  Worth  announced 
in  general  orders,  that  the  Florida  war  was  ended.  This  asser 
tion,  however,  was  premature,  for  hostilities  again  recommenced, 
and  Worth  received  the  surrender  of  a  large  body  of  Creeks  at 
Tampa. 

The  battle  of  Palaklaklaha  was  the  last  important  incident  of 
the  Florida  war.  Its  close  was  thus  announced  by  President 
Tyler,  in  his  message  of  December  8th,  1842. 

"  The  vexatious,  harassing,  and  expensive  war  which  so  long 
prevailed  with  the  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  the  peninsula  of  Flo 
rida,  has  happily  been  terminated :  whereby  our  army  has  been 
relieved  from  a  service  of  the  most  disagreeable  character,  and 
the  treasury  from  a  large  expenditure.  Some  casual  outbreaks 
may  occur,  such  as  are  incident  to  the  close  proximity  of  border 
settlements  and  the  Indians ;  but  these,  as  in  all  other  cases,  may 
be  left  to  the  care  of  the  local  authorities,  aided,  when  occasion 
may  require,  by  the  forces  of  the  United  States.  A  sufficient 
number  of  troops  will  be  maintained  in  Florida,  so  long  as  the 
remotest  apprehension  of  danger  shall  exist;  yet  their  duties 
will  be  limited  rather  to  the  garrisoning  of  the  necessary  posts 
than  to  the  maintenance  of  active  hostilities.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  a  territory  so  long  retarded  in  its  growth,  will  now  speedily 
recover  from  the  evils  incident  to  a  protracted  war,  exhibiting  in 
the  increased  amount  of  its  rich  productions,  true  evidences  of 
returning  wealth  and  prosperity.  By  the  practice  of  rigid  jus 
tice  towards  the  numerous  Indian  tribes,  residing  within  our 
territorial  limits,  and  the  exercise  of  parental  vigilance  over  their 
interests,  protecting  them  against  fraud  and  intrusion,  and  at  the 
same  time  using  every  proper  expedient  to  introduce  among 
them  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  we  may  fondly  hope,  not  only  to 
wean  them  from  the  love  of  war,  but  to  inspire  them  with  a  love 
of  peace  and  all  its  avocations.  With  several  of  the  tribes,  great 
progress  in  civilizing  them  has  already  been  made.  The  school 
master  and  the  missionary  are  found  side  by  side,  and  the  remains 
of  what  were  once  numerous  and  powerful  nations  may  yet  be  pre 
served  as  the  builders  up  of  a  new  name  for  themselves  and  their 


The  Seminole  war,  thus  happily  terminated,  had  been  the  least 
glorious  in  which  the  United  States  had  ever  engaged.     Occa- 


THE  SECOND  SEMINOLE  WAR. 


287 


sionally,  a  signal  triumph  was  obtained  by  the  most  untiring  ex 
ertion,  but  the  consequences  were  scarcely  felt  by  the  rapid  and 
Bwamp-covered  enemy.  Great  numbers  of  men  had  been  worn 
out  by  a  service  requiring  so  much  exertion;  able  generals  baffled, 
and  millions  of  dollars  expended  without  apparent  effect.  The 
territory  had  been  rendered  almost  uninhabitable,  and  the  name 
of  it  is  forever  associated  with  deeds  of  terror  and  horrible  suf 
ferings.  It  is  most  probable,  that  the  struggle  was  hastened  by 
the  lawless  conduct  of  a  few  whites.  But  this  cannot  excuse 
the  manner  in  which  the  savages  prosecuted  it.  All  the  Florida 
Indians  are  now  transported  to  the  Indian  territory,  and  there 
is  no  prospect  of  such  a  war  ever  recurring  in  that  region. 


CHAPTER  XXT 


INDIAN  HOSTILITIES  IN  CALIFORNIA  AND  NEW  MEXICO. 

THE  Indian  tribes  of  California  are  in  a  degraded  and 
miserable  condition.  The  most  numerous  are  the  Shoshonees, 
the  Blackfeet,  and  the  Crows.  Many  of  them  have  been 
brought  to  a  half  civilized  state,  and  are  employed  at  the  differ 
ent  ranches.  But  those  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Sierra  Ne 
vada  are  untamable,  treacherous,  and  ferocious.  They  wander 
about,  for  the  most  part  going  entirely  naked,  and  subsisting  upon 
roots,  acorns,  and  pine  cones.  Since  the  discovery  of  the  gold, 
they  have  acquired  some  knowledge  of  its  usefulness,  but  no  clear 
conception  of  its  value,  and  they  part  with  their  gatherings  for 
whatever  strikes  their  fancy,  without  much  hesitation  in  bargain 
ing  with  dealers.  They  are  generally  of  medium  stature,  dark 
skin  and  hair,  (which  grows  low  down  over  their  foreheads,)  with 
ugly  countenances,  devoid  of  any  intellectual  expression,  and  are 
immeasurably  inferior  to  the  Indians  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains,  and  those  of  the  Atlantic  States. 

Soon  after  the  discovery  of  the  placers,  the  Indians  displayed 
their  hostility  by  attacking  straggling  miners,  and,  growing 
bolder,  committed  serious  depredations  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 

(288) 


INDIAN  HOSTILITIES  IN  289 

mines  furthest  advanced  towards  the  Sierra  Nevada  \  at  length, 
the  murder  of  a  number  of  Oregonians  led  to  a  destructive  war 
fare  between  the  whites  and  savages. 

It  happened  that  six  men  of  a  clan  were  out  "  prospecting/' 
(exploring,)  on  the  Middle  Fork,  and  when  they  had  penetrated 
a  deep  canon,  (gulf,)  a  party  of  some  forty  Indians  attacked  them 
from  the  heights  above.  Unsuspicious  of  an  ambuscade,  the  ex 
plorers  had  left  their  arms  at  some  distance,  and  a  flight  of  arrows 
among  them  was  the  first  intimation  of  the  proximity  of  their 
enemies.  In  their  effort  to  reach  the  tent,  in  which  their  rifles 
were  deposited,  all  but  one  were  killed,  and  he  had  great  difficulty 
in  making  his  escape. 

Many  depredations  upon  the  property  of  the  diggers  had  be 
fore  been  perpetrated  by  the  savages.  Horses  and  cattle  had 
been  carried  away,  and  much  damage  had  been  done  by  the  ma 
rauders.  It  needed  but  this  outrage  to  exasperate  the  miners  to 
the  highest  pitch,  especially  the  friends  and  countrymen  of  the 
sufferers.  A  war  of  extermination  was,  therefore,  declared,  and 
carried  on  by  well  armed  and  well  mounted  parties,  determined 
on  revenge.  Eight  Indians,  with  a  Dumber  of  squaws  and  pap- 
pooses,  were  captured  and  brought  into  Culloma.  These  clearly 
came  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  respectable  "  bencher,"  Judge 
Lynch,  and  they  were  condemned  to  be  shot.  While  one  after 
another  were  thus  being  disposed  of,  some  broke  away,  and  took 
to  the  river,  but  soon  the  unerring  marksmen  despatched  them 
with  their  rifles,  and  not  one  escaped. 

The  squaws  and  pappooses  were  liberated,  but  the  bloody  con 
test  was  still  carried  on ;  and  after  more  than  a  hundred  had  been 
sacrificed  to  appease  the  manes  of  the  slaughtered  Oregonians, 
the  Indians  were  driven  into  the  snows  of  Sierra  Nevada,  the 
only  place  of  refuge  which  could  afford  them  safety  from  the  hot 
pursuit  which  was  kept  up  by  their  enemies. 

With  a  view  to  giving  an  idea  of  the  mode  of  attack  prac 
tised  by  the  California  Indians,  we  extract  the  following  account 
from  the  journal  of  a  tourist,  who  visited  the  country  soon  after 
the  discovery  of  the  gold  mines : 

We  were  just  on  the  point  of  returning  to  the  camp  to  dinner, 
when  Dowling,  who  was  standing  near  some  sage  bushes  at  the 
upper  part  of  the  ravine,  heard  a  rustling  among  them,  and  on 
moving  in  the  direction  of  the  noise,  saw  an  Indian  stealthily 
creeping  along,  who,  as  soon  as  he  perceived  he  was  discovered, 
discharged  an  arrow,  which  just  missed  its  mark,  but  lacerated, 
and  that  rather  severely,  Dowling' s  ear.  The  savage  set  up  a 
most  terrific  whoop,  and  ran  off,  but  tumbled  before  he  could 
draw  another  arrow  from  his  quiver,  while  Dowling,  rushing  for- 
19 


290  CALIFORNIA  AND  NETf  MEXICO. 

ward,  buried  his  mattock  in  the  head  of  his  fallen  foe,  killing 
him  instantaneously. 

At  this  moment  we  heard  the  crack  of  a  rifle  in  the  direction 
of  the  camp,  which,  with  the  Indian's  whoop  at  the  same  mo 
ment,  completely  bewildered  us.  Every  man,  however,  seized 
his  rifle,  and  Dowling,  hastening  towards  us,  told  us  of  what  had 
just  occurred.  All  was  still  for  the  next  few  moments,  and  I 
mounted  a  little  hill  to  reconnoitre.  Suddenly  I  saw  a  troop  of 
Indians,  the  foremost  of  them  on  horseback,  approaching  at  full 
speed.  I  hastily  returned  to  my  companions,  and  we  sought 
shelter  in  a  little  dell,  determined  to  await  there,  and  resist  the 
attack,  for  it  was  evident  that  the  savages'  intentions  were  any 
thing  but  pacific. 

It  was  a  moment  of  breathless  excitement.  We  heard  the 
tramp,  tramp,  of  the  horses  coming  on  towards  us,  but  as  yet 
they  and  their  riders  were  concealed  from  our  view.  I  confess 
I  trembled  violently,  not  exactly  with  fear,  although  I  expected 
that  a  few  moments  would  see  us  all  scalped  by  our  savage 
assailants.  It  was  the  suddenness  of  the  danger  which  startled 
me,  and  made  niy  heart  throb  violently;  but  at  that  moment, 
just  as  I  was  reproaching  myself  with  the  want  of  courage,  a  ter 
rific  yell  rung  through  the  air  at  a  short  distance  from  us,  and 
forty  or  fifty  warlike  Indians  appeared  in  sight.  My  whole 
frame  was  nerved  in  an  instant,  and  when  a  shower  of  arrows 
flew  amongst  us,  I  was  the  first  man  to  answer  itf  with  a  rifle 
shot,  which  brought  one  of  the  foremost  Indians  off  his  horse  to 
the  ground.  I  instantly  reloaded,  but  in  the  meanwhile  the  rifles 
of  my  companions  had  been  doing  good  service.  We  had  taken 
up  our  position  behind  a  row  of  willow  trees  which  skirted  the 
banks  of  a  narrow  stream,  and  here  we  were  protected  in  a  great 
measure  from  the  arrows  of  our  assailants,  which  were  in  most 
cases  turned  aside  by  the  branches.  A  second  volley  of  rifle 
shots  soon  followed  the  first;  and  while  we  were  reloading,  and 
the  smoke  had  slightly  cleared  away,  I  could  see  that  we  had 
spread  consternation  in  the  ranks  of  the  Indian  warriors,  and  that 
they  were  gathering  up  their  wounded  preparatory  to  retiring.  I 
had  my  eye  on  an  old  man,  who  had  just  leaped  from  his  horse. 
My  finger  was  on  the  trigger,  when  I  saw  him  coolly  advance, 
and  taking  one  of  his  wounded  companions,  who  had  been  shot 
through  his  leg,  in  his  arms,  place  him  on  a  horse,  then  mount 
ing  his  own,  and  catching  hold  of  the  other  animal's  bridle,  ga> 
lop  off  at  full  speed.  Although  I  knew  full  well  that  if  the  for 
tune  of  the  day  had  gone  against  us,  these  savages  would  not 
have  spared  a  single  man  of  our  party,  still  I  could  not  find  it 
in  my  heart  to  fire  on  the  old  chief,  and  he  curried  off  his 
wounded  comrade  in  safety.  In  a  few  minutes  the  bill  sides  were 


INDIAN  HOSTILITIES  IN 


291 


GENERAL  KEARNEY. 


cl«av,  and  when  we  emerged  from  our  shelter,  all  that  was  visible 
of  the  troop  of  warriors  was  three  of  them  weltering  in  their 
blood,  a  bow  or  two,  and  some  empty  quivers,  and  a  few  scattered 
feathers  and  tomahawks,  lying  on  the  ground." 

Several  engagements  have  taken  place  between  parties  of  In 
dians  and  the  small  body  of  United  States  troops  in  California, 
In  all  of  which  the  Indians  hnve  suffered  greatly.  But  they 
continue  as  fierce  and  revengeful  as  ever,  and  murder  and  plun 
der  whenever  and  wherever  they  find  an  opportunity. 

In  New  Mexico,  which  became  a  part  of  the  United  States  ter 
ritory  at  the  same  time  as  California,  the  Indians  are  numerous 
and  far  more  formidable  than  those  farther  west.  The  Apache 
and  Navajoe  Indians  are  the  most  powerful  tribes  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  Being  strong,  active,  and  skilful,  war  is  their  de 
light,  and  they  were  the  terror  of  the  New  Mexicans  before  the 
territory  was  occupied  by  the  United  States  troops.  The  Pueblo 
Indians  are  among  the  best  and  most  peaceable  citizens  of  New 


292  INDIAN   HOSTILITIES  IN 

Mexico.  They,  early  after  the  Spanish  conquest,  embraced  the 
forms  of  religion  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  their  then  more 
civilized  masters.  The  Pimos  and  Maricopos  are  peaceable  tribes, 
who  cultivate  the  ground  and  endeavor  to  become  good  citizens. 
They  are  much  exposed  to  the  irresistible  attacks  of  the  Apache 
and  Navajoe  Indians,  and,  very  often,  the  fruits  of  their  honest 
toil  become  the  plunder  of  those  fierce  wanderers. 

In  1846,  an  American  army,  under  General  Kearney,  marched 
into  New  Mexico  and  received  the  submission  of  the  authorities 
at  Santa  Fe.  After  Kearney's  departure  from  that  city,  the  in 
habitants  conspired  against  the  American  government;  but  their 
object  was  discovered,  and  its  execution  prevented.  Although 
thus  discovered,  the  Indians  did  not  abandon  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  execute  their  plan  at  a  favorable  opportunity. 

On  the  19th  of  January,  1847,  a  considerable  number  of  them 
collected  in  the  village  of  Taos  to  obtain  the  release  of  two  com 
panions  whom  the  authorities  had  imprisoned.  So  singular  a 
demand  was,  of  course,  refused;  when,  without  repeating  it,  the 
Indians  murdered  the  sheriff  and  the  Mexican  prefect,  broke  into 
the  prison,  and  released  the  prisoners.  Instead  of  retiring,  they 
then  rushed  through  the  village,  and  forced  their  way  into  a 
house  where  Governor  Bent  had  but  a  short  time  previously 
taken  up  a  temporary  residence.  In  this  extremity  ^  the  unfor 
tunate  man  appears  to  have  lost  his  presence  of  mind,  neither 
fighting  nor  retreating  until  it  was  too  late  to  do  either.  As  the 
Indians  approached  his  room,  he  decided  upon  retreating;  but, 
being  wounded  in  attempting  to  jump  from  the  window,  he  re 
turned,  and  was  shot  through  the  body  by  the  Indians.  Then 
followed  a  scene  sickening  to  every  one  but  a  savage.  The  dying 
man  was  shot  in  the  face  with  his  own  pistol,  then  scalped,  and, 
lastly,  nailed  to  a  board.  A  Mr.  Leal,  acting  at  that  time  as 
district  attorney,  was  killed  by  slow  torture,  after  having  been 
scalped  alive.  Some  others  were  killed  in  another  part  of  the 
village;  and  the  Indians  afterwards  formed  in  procession,  parad 
ing  the  bodies  of  the  governor  and  attorney  through  the  village. 
The  object  of  the  savages  was  undoubtedly  to  excite  an  insurrec 
tion;  but  in  this  they  were  again  disappointed. 

Some  severe  battles  with  the  Indians  occurred  during  the 
Mexican  war.  One  of  the  most  spirited  of  these  encounters  was 
an  attack  by  a  detachment  of  Colonel  Doniphan's  men,  upon  a 
party  of  Lipan  warriors,  near  El  Paso.  The  colonel  was  march 
ing  from  Chihuahua  to  Saltillo,  (May  13,  1847,)  and  had  de 
tached  Captain  Reid,  with  thirty  men  to  El  Paso,  as  an  advance 
guard.  About  nine  o' clock  in  the  morning,  the  captain  observed 
&  party  of  Indians  emerging  from  a  gap  in  the  mountains,  five 
miles  distant,  and  advancing  toward  the  rancho.  They  num- 


CALIFORNIA  AND  NEW  MEXICO.  293 

bered  about  sixty,  and  were  returning  from  an  attack  upon  a 
neighboring  Mexican  town,  where  they  had  secured  many  pri 
soners  and  more  than  a  thousand  horses  and  mules.  Although 
in  arms  against  the  Mexicans,  Reid  lost  no  time  in  deciding  upon 
his  course.  The  number  of  Indians  was  double  his  own;  they 
had  the  advantage  of  ground;  they  could,  if  it  were  needful, 
retreat  at  once,  and  either  escape  or  perhaps  draw  him  into  an 
ambush;  but  he  determined  upon  rescuing  the  prisoners.  At 
the  word  of  command,  each  American  was  in  the  saddle,  and  the 
whole  party  bore  down  at  full  speed  upon  the  Indians.  The  latter 
coolly  awaited  the  charge,  and  opened  the  skirmish  by  a  partial 
discharge  of  arrows.  The  Americans  answered  by  an  entire 
volley  from  their  rifles.  Immediately  the  Indians,  raising  a  yell, 
rushed  forward  and  discharged  their  arrows  with  astonishing  ra 
pidity.  After  fighting  for  some  time,  the  Americans  were  driven 
back,  but  having  reloaded,  they  again  charged  and  drove  the  In 
dians  before  them.  The  superior  horsemanship  of  the  latter 
afforded  them  great  advantages.  They  waved  their  bodies  in  the 
saddles,  galloped  swiftly  up  and  down,  and  by  other  methods 
known  only  to  savages,  contrived  to  elude  the  American  balls. 
The  battle  continued  nearly  two  hours,  each  party  charging  and 
retreating  alternately,  and  keeping  up  a  continual  fire.  At 
length  the  captain's  men  began  to  gain  ground,  inch  by  inch,  as 
the  Indians  becoming  discouraged,  fought  with  less  obstinacy 
and  less  skill.  In  the  final  retreat,  the  latter  suffered  severely, 
leaving  fifteen  dead  on  the  field  and  carrying  away  a  still  larger 
number,  together  with  all  their  wounded.  Nine  Mexican  pri 
soners  were  recovered  and  restored  to  liberty,  and  a  herd  of  one 
thousand  horses  and  mules,  were  appropriated,  as  far  as  practi 
cable,  to  their  original  owners. 

The  Camanches  are  a  powerful  tribe,  inhabiting  the  country  on 
the  northeastern  frontier  of  New  Mexico.  Their  frequent  attacks 
upon  the  Santa  Fe  traders  have  made  their  daring  activity  and 
cruelty  familiar  to  the  people  of  the  western  country,  and  espe 
cially  of  the  borders  of  Texas.  Their  incursions  are  still  a  source 
of  terror  to  the  Mexicans;  but  having  experienced  the  power  of 
the  United  States  troops  and  the  vengeance  of  the  Texans,  they 
hesitate  to  attack  the  frontier  settlements  of  our  territory.  They 
are  brave,  hardy,  and  skilful  horsemen,  which  adds  greatly  to 
rendering  their  attacks  formidable.  A  severe  battle  was  fought 
with  thorn,  by  a  party  of  Americans,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
Love,  Juno  26th,  1847.  The  particulars  of  this  affair  are  so  well 
described  by  aa  officer  who  shared  its  dangers,  that  we  give  them 
in  his  own  words: 

"  On  the  23d,  we  arrived  at  the  Pawnee  Fork,  and  there  met 
two  government  trains  of  provision  wagons  destined  for  Santa  Fe, 


294  INDIAX   HOSTILITIES   IN 

and  learned  from  them  that  the  day  previous  the  Indians  charged 
on  them  as  their  cattle  were  grazing,  wounding  three  men — one 
severely — and  driving  off  from  traders  and  a  return  train  of 
government  wagons  under  Mr.  Bell,  some  seventy  yoke  of  oxen, 
leaving  seventy  wagons  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  provisions 
and  other  property  without  the  means  of  transportation.  The 
wagons  and  property  were  burned  to  prevent  their  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  Indians.  Next  day,  (the  24th,)  we  travelled  up 
to  the  Fork  and  encamped,  and  on  the  25th  to  this  place,  on 
which  day  I  was  in  charge  of  the  guard,  and  the  night  passed 
over  without  any  alarm,  although  every  vigilance  and  precaution 
was  used.  Next  morning,  the  26th,  immediately  after  reveille, 
Hayden's  train,  which  was  encamped  about  five  hundred  yards 
due  west  from  the  guard  tent,  drove  their  oxen  from  the  corell 
to  graze.  All  were  scarcely  out,  when  a  large  band  of  Caman- 
ches  and  Mexicans  emerged  from  a  ravine  called  Coon  creek, 
about  two  hundred  yards  west,  and  charged  furiously  on  the 
teamsters  and  herdsmen,  wounding  three  and  driving  off  one 
hundred  and  thirty  yoke  of  government  oxen,  and  thirty  yoke 
belonging  to  a  trader  who  was  accompanying  them.  One  con 
spicuous  Indian  rode  within  carbine  range.  I  fired  and  killed 
the  horse  from  under  him,  and,  as  far  as  could  be  ascertained, 
wounded  himself;  however,  he  was  soon  behind  another  Indian. 
In  the  meantime  the  camp  was  armed,  and  some  eighteen  or 
nineteen  mounted  dragoons  were  ordered  out  under  my  command, 
for  the  purpose  of  retaking  the  cattle.  When  my  command 
reached  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  enemy,  I 
halted,  and  formed  in  an  extended  line,  expecting  to  rally  on  a  body 
of  teamsters  who  were  out  as  footmen;  then  charged  on  the  In 
dians,  and  forced  them  to  retreat.  As  they  were  retreating,  a 
large  body  of  well  mounted  Indians  crossed  the  river  between  ine 
and  the  camp  on  my  left,  and  charged  us  in  the  rear  with  great 
fury,  preventing  us  from  rallying,  and  obliging  us  to  cut  our 
way  through  them.  About  this  time  I  was  shot,  and  charged  on 
by  several  Indians.  I  made  my  sabre,  however,  drink  blood, 
having  killed  one  and  wounded  another.  Every  man  in  my 
little  command  fought  bravely  and  manfully,  and  five  of  my 
poor  fellows  were  killed,  defending  themselves  to  the  last,  and 
selling  their  lives  at  a  dear  rate,  and  six  wounded — three  more 
besides  myself  severely  wounded.  The  killed  were  Arlidge, 
Deckhart,  Short,  Gaskill,  and  Blake.  The  wounded,  myself, 
Vanfcaster,  Lovelace,  and  Ward,  severely,  and  Burk  and  Wilson 
slightly.  The  severe  loss  I  met  with,  I  attribute  to  the  almost 
unmanageable  state  of  the  horses,  all  being  new  in  the  service, 
and  to  the  Indians  being  permitted  to  charge  on  us  from  behind. 
The  enemy  took  off  the  cattle,  scalped  three  men,  and  took  off 


J 


CALIFORNIA  AND   NEW  MEXICO.  295 

the  horses,  equipments,  arms,  and  ammunition,  and  the  clothes 
of  the  dead.  The  Indians,  when  in  a  body,  numbered  about  five 
hundred.  I  make  no  comments,  I  merely  give  you  the  facts  as 
they  occurred  before  me. 

"The  Indians  were  all  armed  with  lances  measuring  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet  in  length,  bows  and  arrows,  and  a  great 
many  with  rifles  and  muskets.  There  were  some  white  men 
among  them.  Several  of  our  men  saw  them  as  well  as  myself. 
The  air  was  actually  as  dark  as  if  a  flight  of  birds  were  hovering 
over  us,  from  the  balls,  lances,  and  arrows  that  were  flying 
through  the  air.  Twelve  or  fifteen  of  the  enemy  are  known  to 
have  fallen — perhaps  more — but  were  immediately  carried  off. 
Four  of  their  horses  were  left  dead  on  the  ground.  Since  then, 
we  remain  here,  merely  changing  positions  for  the  purpose  of 
pastime.  To-morrow,  I  understand,  we  will  proceed  again  on 
our  route,  arrangements  being  made  to  take  all  the  trains  along, 
with  somewhat  less  team,  however.  The  Indians  have  attacked 
every  train  that  has  gone  out  or  come  in  this  year,  and  are  bound 
to  attack  every  train  that  will  follow.  These  Camanches,  Paw 
nees,  and  Arrapahoes  deserve  a  castigation  that  would  ever  after 
keep  them  quiet,  and  which  they  are  sure  some  day  to  receive. 

"Lieutenant  Love  was  in  a  most  distressing  situation.  Never 
has  man  suffered,  I  believe,  more  in  one  day  than  he  has  suffered. 
Here  were  twelve  wagons,  with  six  mules  to  each — provisions, 
and  all  the  specie,  that  he  could  not  by  any  possible  means  aban 
don,  as  another  large  force  were  ready  to  attack  the  camp  if  he 
were  to  go  out  with  a  large  force;  and  yet  he  saw  the  awful 
situation  in  which  we  were  placed,  and  could  not  give  us  the 
slightest  aid  or  assistance.  I  am  convinced  that  he  acted  pru 
dently  and  wisely ;  for  it  has  been  his  special  care  to  take  all  the 
precautions  that  an  experienced  officer  could  take  to  save  his 
men  and  animals  ever  since  he  commenced  his  march." 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  Indian  aggression  on  the  route 
to  New  Mexico.  The  violence  was,  however,  confined  to  the 
Camanches,  and  to  a  small  portion  of  the  Arrapahoes,  and  the 
band  of  Pawnees  south  of  the  Platte.  This  violence  the  United 
States  government  took  effectual  measures  to  quell,  by  placing  a 
competent  force  under  command  of  Colonel  Gilpin,  who  had  sig 
nally  distinguished  himself  with  Doniphan,  in  Chihuahua. 


CHAPTEE    XXII. 


THE  TRIBES  WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

BY  treaties  concluded  by  the  agents  of  the  United  States 
government  at  different  periods,  nearly  all  of  the  Indian  tribes 
have  been  induced  to  remove  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Those  who 
remain  in  the  haunts  of  their  fathers  are  chiefly  converts  to  Chris 
tianity,  and  in  a  half  civilized  state.  Many  of  the  tribes  have 
dwindled  into  insignificance,  yet  the  few  who  remain  are  proud 
to  maintain  their  distinctive  appellation,  and  support  the  inde 
pendence  of  their  old  clan. 

The  most  powerful  and  numerous  tribes  in  the  northwest  are 
the  Sioux,  or  Dacotahs,  the  Blackfeet,  Crows,  and  Pawnees.  A 
few  of  the  celebrated  Delaware  tribe  still  remain,  and  are  a 
source  of  terror  to  their  numerous  enemies.  The  Blackfeet  In 
dians  occupy  the  whole  of  the  country  about  the  sources  of  the 
Missouri,  from  the  mouth  of  the  lrellow  Stone  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Their  number  is  between  forty  and  fifty  thousand, 
and  their  general  bearing  is  warlike  and  ferocious.  Their  enemies 
are  numerous,  yet  they  maintain  their  ascendancy.  The  Crows 
are  a  much  smaller  tribe  than  the  Blackfeet,  with  whom  they  are 
always  at  war.  They  are  fearless  warriors,  and  seek  their  ene 
mies  wherever  they  are  to  be  found.  In  number  they  are  about 
six  thousand.  The  following  is  an  account  of  one  of  their  battles 
with  the  Blackfeet  Indians. 

(293) 


THE  TRIBES  WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  297 

FIGHT   BETWEEN  THE  CROW  AND  THE  BLACKFEET   INDIANS. 

I 

In  June,  1845,  a  party  of  about  seven  hundred  Crow  Indians 
were  driven  from  their  own  country  by  the  Sioux,  to  the  vicinity 
of  Fort  F.  A.  C.,  near  the  Falls  of  the  Missouri.  On  the  17th 
they  encountered  a  small  party  of  Blackfeet  warriors,  whom  they 
immediately  attacked.  Notwithstanding  the  great  disparity  in 
numbers,  the  battle  was  fierce  and  bloody.  Twenty-two  of  the 
Blackfeet  were  killed,  and  one  hundred  women  and  children  car 
ried  away,  together  with  three  hundred  horses.  At  this  moment 
they  beheld  the  main  body  of  their  party  approaching;  the 
battle  was  renewed  with  terrible  fury,  and  the  Crows,  though 
superior  in  number,  were  in  their  turn  driven  back.  They 
retreated  to  a  strongly  fortified  spot,  carrying  with  them  the 
horses  and  goods.  Most  of  the  prisoners  escaped.  The  Black- 
feet  made  several  desperate  charges,  but  were  finally  obliged  to 
retire.  About  a  dozen  of  their  number  were  killed  and  many 
more  wounded. 

At  the  time  of  this  battle  the  Blackfeet  tribe  were  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Columbia, 
whither  it  is  their  practice  to  retire  every  spring.  Those  attacked 
by  the  Crows  were,  consequently,  only  an  advanced  party  which 
crossed  the  mountains  earlier  than  usual.  The  Crows  had  them 
selves  been  driven  into  the  neighborhood  where  the  fight  occurred 
by  the  Sioux  who  were  out  in  great  force  against  them.  At 
other  times  when  the  Blackfeet  are  absent  they  usually  visit  that 
section  of  country.  About  a  fortnight  before  the  fight,  a  small 
party  of  the  Blackfeet  had  attacked  the  guard  at  Fort  F.  A.  C., 
(the  trading  post  of  the  American  Fur  Company,)  killed  one 
man,  and  seriously  wounded  another,  and  stole  thirty  horses.  The 
whole  afiair  will  serve  to  show  the  dangers  to  which  the  western 
settlers  are  exposed,  as  well  as  the  condition  of  constant  war 
and  ferment  in  which  the  Indians  of  the  Great  West  are  still 
engaged.  _ 

The  Sioux  or  Dacotahs,  are  equal  in  numbers  to  the  Black- 
feet.  They  can  bring  about  ten  thousand  warriors  into  the  field, 
well  mounted  and  armed.  This  tribe  take  vast  numbers  of  the 
wild  horses  on  the  plains  towards  the  Rocky  mountains,  and 
many  of  them  have  been  supplied  with  guns;  but  the  greater 
part  of  them  hunt  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  long  lances,  kill 
ing  their  game  from  their  horses'  back  while  at  full  speed.  The 
name  Sioux  was  given  to  them  by  the  French  traders;  their 
name  in  their  own  language  is  Dacotah.  Their  personal  appear 
ance  is  very  fine  and  prepossessing,  at  least  one  half  of  their 
warriors  being  above  six  feet  high.  They  occupy  such  a  vast 
tract  of  country,  that  they  are  necessarily  divided  into  forty 


298  THE  INDIAN  WARS. 

bands,  each  having  a  chief,  who  all  acknowledge  one  superior. 
The  Sioux  are  nearly  always  at  war  with  the  neighboring  tribes, 
and  their  numbers  enable  them  generally  to  triumph. 

The  Pawnees  are  a  very  powerful  and  warlike  nation,  living 
on  the  river  Platte,  about  one  hundred  miles  from  its  junction 
with  the  Missouri;  laying  claim  to,  and  exercising  sway  over  the 
whole  country,  from  its  mouth  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains.  In  1832,  this  tribe  numbered  about  twenty  thousand  per 
sons.  But  the  small  pox  and  their  many  wars  have  reduced 
them  one  half.  The  small  pox  almost  annihilated  several  other 
tribes  who  are  now  living  under  the  sway  of  the  Pawnees.  The 
Pawnees  are  considerably  fiercer  and  more  distrustful  than  most 
of  the  other  tribes.  They  are  divided  into  four  1  ands,  distin 
guished  by  the  names — Grand  Pawnees,  Tappage  Pawnees,  Re 
publican  Pawnees  and  Wolf  Pawnees.  Human  sacrifices  used  to 
be  common  among  this  people,  but  they  have  of  late  been  aban 
doned,  in  consequence  of  the  influence  of  the  white  traders. 

The  Flatheads  are  a  very  numerous  people  inhabiting  the 
shores  of  the  Columbia  river,  and  the  country  lying  southeast 
of  it.  They  are  mostly  obliged  to  live  on  roots  and  fish,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  general  sterility  of  their  country,  and  the  paucity 
of  game.  They  are  poor  and  miserably  clad,  and  in  no  respect 
equal  to  the  Indians  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  game 
is  plentiful.  The  people  generally  denominated  Flatheads  are 
divided  into  a  great  many  bands;  and,  although  they  have  un 
doubtedly  derived  their  name  from  the  custom  of  flattening  the 
head,  yet  there  are  but  very  few  of  those  so  denominated  who 
actually  practice  that  extraordinary  custom.  The  process  is 
seemingly  a  cruel  one,  though  it  is  performed  in  earliest  infancy 
while  the  bones  are  cartilaginous  and  easily  pressed  into  any 
shape.  The  infant  is  put  into  a  sort  of  a  cradle,  soon  after  its 
birth,  and  a  board  fastened  upon  the  head  in  the  required  posi 
tion,  and  it  is  kept  in  this  situation  for  six  or  seven  weeks.  The 
custom,  like  many  others  in  civilized  society,  is  without  reason, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  one  from  the  Indians  themselves. 
Catlin  traces  the  same  custom  among  the  old  Choctaws,  and 
attempts  to  prove  that  these  tribes,  though  separated  so  widely 
at  present,  were  once  neighbors.  The  Indians  on  the  Columbia 
River  are  noted  for  their  kindness  and  hospitality. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes  are  generally  united ;  but  were  originally 
distinct  tribes.  They  inhabit  the  country  directly  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  which  is  now  included  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 
The  famous  Black  Hawk  was  a  chief  of  the  Sacs,  w*ho  have  ever 
been  a  daring,  warlike  tribe.  They  number  about  five  thousand 
persons.  War  parties  often  proceed  against  the  powerful  Sioux, 
making  up  in  activity  and  skill  what  they  lack  in  strength. 


THE  TRIBES  WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  299 

Catlin  gives  an  account  of  a  singular  custom  prevalent  in  tins 
tribe. 

Smoking  Horses  is  a  peculiar  and  very  curious  custom  of  this 
tribe.  When  General  Street  and  I  arrived  at  Kee-o-kuk's  village, 
we  were  just  in  time  to  see  this  amusing  scene,  on  the  prairie, 
a  little  back  of  his  village.  The  Foxes  who  were  making  up  a  war 
party  to  go  against  the  Sioux,  and  had  not  suitable  horses  enough 
by  twenty,  had  sent  word  to  the  Sacs,  the  day  before  (according 
to  an  ancient  custom,)  that  they  were  coming  on  that  day,  at  a 
certain  hour,  to  a  smoke"  that  number  of  horses,  and  they  must 
not  fail  to  have  them  ready.  On  that  day,  and  at  that  hour,  the 
twenty  young  men  who  were  beggars  for  horses,  were  on  the 
spot,  and  seated  themselves  on  the  ground  in  a  circle,  where 
they  went  to  smoking.  The  villagers  flocked  around  them  in  a 
dense  crowd,  and  soon  after  appeared  on  the  prairie,  at  half  a 
mile  distance,  an  equal  number  of  young  men  of  the  Sac  tribe, 
who  had  agreed,  each  to  give  a  horse,  and  who  were  then  gal 
loping  them  about  at  full  speed;  and,  gradually,  as  they  went 
around  in  a  circuit,  coming  in  nearer  to  the  centre,  until  they 
were  at  last  close  around  the  ring  of  young  fellows  seated 
on  the  ground.  "While  dashing  about  this,  each  one  with  a 
heavy  whip  in  his  hand,  as  he  came  within  reach  of  the  group 
on  the  ground,  selected  the  one  to  whom  he  decided  to  present 
his  horse,  and  as  he  passed  him,  ,gave  him  the  most  tremendous 
cut  with  his  lash,  over  his  naked  shoulders;  and  as  he  darted 
around  again  he  plied  the  whip  as  before,  and  again,  and  again, 
with  a  violent  " crack!"  until  the  blood  could  be  seen  trickling 
down  over  his  naked  shoulders,  upon  which  he  instantly  dis 
mounted,  and  placed  the  bridle  and  whip  in  his  hands,  saying, 
"  here,  you  are  a  beggar — I  present  you  a  horse,  but  you  will 
carry  my  mark  on  your  back."  In  this  manner,  they  were  all  in 
a  little  time  '* whipped  up"  and  each  had  a  good  horse  to  ride 
home,  and  into  battle.  His  necessity  was  such,  that  he  could 
afford  to  take  the  stripes  and  the  scars  as  the  price  of  the 
horse/ and  the  giver  could  afford  to  make  the  present  for  the 
satisfaction  of  putting  his  mark  upon  the  other,  and  of  boasting 
of  his  liberality,  which  he  has  always  a  right  to  do,  when  going 
into  the  dance,  or  on  other  important  occasions. 

The  Begging  Dance  is  a  frequent  amusement,  and  one  that 
has  been  pacticed  with  some  considerable  success  at  this  time, 
while  there  have  been  so  many  distingushed  and  liberal  visitors 
here.  It  is  got  up  by  a  number  of  desperate  and  long-winded 
fellows  who  will  dance  and  yell  their  visitors  into  liberality;  or, 
if  necessary,  laugh  them  into  it,  by  their  strange  antics,  singing 
a  song  of  importunity,  and  extending  their  hands  for  presents, 


300 


THE  INDIAN  WARS. 


•which  they  allege  are  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  the  poor,  and 
ensure  a  blessing  to  the  giver. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  like  all  other  Indians,  are  fond  of  living 
along  the  banks  of  rivers  and  streams;  and  like  all  others,  are 
expert  smimmers  and  skilful  canoemen. 

Their  canoes,  like  those  of  the  Sioux  and  many  other  tribes, 
are  dug  out  from  a  log,  and  generally  made  extremely  light ;  and 
they  dart  them  through  the  coves  and  along  the  shores  of  the 
rivers,  with  astonishing  quickness.  I  was  often  amused  at  their 
freaks  in  their  canoes,  while  travelling;  and  I  was  induced  to 
make  a  sketch  of  one  which  I  frequently  witnessed,  that  of  sail 
ing  with  the  aid  of  their  blankets,  which  the  men  carry;  and 
when  the  wind  is  fair,  stand  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe  and  hold  by 
two  corners,  with  the  other  two  under  the  foot  or  tied  to  the  leg; 
while  the  women  sit  in  the  other  end  of  the  canoe,  and  steer  "it 
with  their  paddles. 

The  large  and  powerful  tribes — the  Choctaws,  Cherokees  ami 
Creeks,  who  emigrated  from  the  southern  states  to  the  western 
territory,  have  ceased  to  be  warlike,  and  now,  thanks  to  the 
labors  of  many  Christians,  cultivate  the  arts  and  enjoyments  of 
peace.  They  increase  in  number,  and  bid  fair  to  become  very 
good  citizens  of  the  States,  soon  to  be  formed  in  that  country. 


INDIAN    CAPTIVITIES 


OB 


LIFE  IN  THE  WIGWAM; 


BEING 


TRUE  NARRATIVES  OF  CAPTIVES  WHO  HAVE  BEEN  CARRIED  AWA.Y 

BY  THE  INDIANS,  FROM  THE  FRONTIER  SETTLEMENTS 

OF     THE     UNITED     STATES,     FROM     THE 

EARLIEST    PERIOD    TO  THE 

PRESENT   TIME. 


BY 

SAMUEL   G.   DRAKE, 


ov  TH*  "BOOK  o»  INDIANS." 


AUBURN: 
DERBY    AND    MILLER. 

1852. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1839, 

BY    SAMUEL    G.  DRAKE, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED    BY 
GEO.   A.  &  J.  CURTIS, 

W1W  ENGLAND  TYPB  AN«  BTBBEOTYPB  FOUNDRY,  BOITOV. 


READER- 

THIS  volume  consists  of  entire  Narratives ;  that  is  to  say,  I  have  given 
..he  originals  without  the  slightest  abridgment ;  nor  have  t  taken  any 
liberties  with  the  language  of  any  of  them,  which  would  ip  the  remotest 
degree  change  the  sense  of  a  single  passage,  and  the  instances  are  few  in 
which  I  have  ventured  to  correct  peculiarities  of  expression  ;  yet  I  designed 
that,  with  regard  to  grammatical  accuracy,  there  should  be  as  few  faults 
as  the  nature  of  such  a  performance  would  allow.  All  expressions  of  an 
antiquated  date  are  not  attempted  to  be  changed.  Some  redundancies 
have  been  dropped,  which  could  only  have  been  retained  at  the  expense 
of  perspicuity. 

I  am  not  unaware  that  there  may  be  persons  who  will  doubt  of  the 
propriety  of  laying  before  all  classes  of  the  community  a  work  which 
records  so  much  that  is  shocking  to  humanity ;  but  the  fashion  of  studying 
the  book  of  Nature  has  now  long  obtained,  and  pervades  all  classes.  I 
have  done  no  more  than  to  exhibit  a  page  of  it  in  this  collection.  To 
observe  man  in  his  uncivilized  or  natural  state  offers  an  approach  to  a 
knowledge  of  his  natural  history,  without  which  it  is  hardly  obtained. 

We  find  volumes  upon  volumes  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
Indians,  many  of  the  writers  of  which  would  have  us  believe  they  have 
exhausted  the  subject,  and  consequently  we  need  inquire  no  further ; 
but  whoever  has  travelled  among  distant  tribes,  or  read  the  accounts  of 
intelligent  travellers,  do  not  require  to  be  told  that  the  most  endless  variety 
exists,  and  that  the  manners  and  customs,  of  uncultivated  nations  are  no 
more  stationary,  nor  so  much  so,  as  are  those  of  a  civilized  people.  The 
current  of  time  changes  all  things.  But  we  have  elsewhere  observed* 
that  similar  necessities,  although  in  different  nations,  have  produced 
similar  customs ;  such  as  will  stand  through  ages  with  very  little,  if  any, 
variation.  Neither  is  it  strange  that  similar  articulations  should  be  found 
m  languages  having  no  other  affinity,  because  imitations  of  natural 
sounds  must  everywhere  be  the  same.  Hence  it  follows  that  customs 
are  as  various  as  the  face  of  nature  itself. 

A  lecturer  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  certain  tribes  of  Indians  may 
assure  us  that  no  others  observe  certain  barbarous  rites,  and  that,  as  they 
by  some  sudden  mortality  have  become  extinct,  the  knowledge  of  those 
rites  is  known  to  none  others  save  himself,  and  that  therefore  he  is  the 

*Eook  of  the  Indians,  Book  i.,  p.  10. 


£0 


ir  PREFACE. 

only  person  living  who  can  inform  us  of  them.  But  he  may  be  assured 
that  captives  and  other  travellers  have  witnessed  customs  and  ceremonies, 
which,  together  with  their  performers,  have  passed  away  also.  And  there 
is  another  view  of  the  matter.  Many  a  custom,  as  it  existed  fifty  or  a 
hundred  years  ago,  has  become  quite  a  different  affair  now.  From  these 
reflections  it  is  easy  to  see  what  an  endless  task  it  would  be  to  describe 
all  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  a  single  tribe  of  Indians,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  thousands  which  have  been  and  still  exist. 

These  observations  have  been  thrown  out  for  the  consideration  of  such 
as  may  be  looking  for  some  great  work  upon  Indian  manners  and  customs, 
to  comprehend  all  they  have  been  taught  to  expect,  from  those  who  have, 
perhaps,  thought  no  deeper  upon  the  subject  than  themselves.  When  the 
reader  shall  have  perused  the  following  narratives,  I  doubt  not  he  will  be 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  what  has  here  been  delivered. 

This  is  truly  an  age  of  essay  writing,  and  we  have  them  in  abundance 
upon  every  thing  and  nothing,  instead  of  facts  which  should  be  remem- 
.bered.  If  a  new  work  upon  travels  or  history  appears,  we  sh^ll  doubtless 
be  delighted  with  descriptions  of  elegant  scenery  and  splendid  sketches 
about  general  matters,  but  arise  from  its  perusal  about  as  ignorant  of  the 
events  of  the  history  we  desire  as  before.  Compositions  of  this  descrip 
tion  form  no  part  of  these  pages. 

I  have  on  other  occasions  stood  out  boldly  in  favor  of  the  oppressed 
Indian,  and  I  know  that  a  book  of  INDIAN  CAPTIVITIES  is  calculated  to 
exhibit  their  character  in  no  very  favorable  light ;  but  the  reader  should 
remember  that,  in  the  following  narratives,  it  is  not  I  who  speak ;  yet  I 
believe  that,  with  very  small  allowances,  these  narratives  are  entirely 
true.  The  errors,  if  any,  will  be  found  only  errors  of  judgment,  which 
affect  not  their  veracity. 

A  people  whose  whole  lives  are  spent  in  war,  and  who  live  by  a  con 
tinual  slaughter  of  all  kinds  of  animals,  must  necessarily  cultivate  ferocity. 
From  the  nature  of  their  circumstances  they  are  obliged  always  to  be  in 
expectation  of  invasion  ;  living  in  small  communities,  dispersed  in  small 
parties  of  five  or  ten  upon  hunting  expeditions,  they  are  easily  surprised 
by  an  enemy  of  equal  or  even  a  lesser  force.  Indians,  consequently,  are 
always  speaking  of  strange  Indians  whom  they  know  not,  nor  do  they 
know  whether  such  are  to  appear  from  one  direction  or  another.  When 
New  England  was  first  settled,  the  Indians  about  Massachusetts  Bay 
were  in  a  miserable  fright  from  fear  of  the  Tarratines ;  skulking  from 
copse  to  copse  by  day,  and  sleeping  in  loathsome  fens  by  night,  to  avoid 
them.  And  all  the  New  England  Indians  were  in  constant- expectation 
of  the  Mohawks  ;  and  scarce  a  tribe  existed  in  any  part  of  the  country 
who  did  not  constantly  expect  to  be  attacked  by  some  ether.  And  such 
was  the  policy  of  those  people  that  no  calculation  could  be  made  upon 
their  operations  or  pretensions,  inasmuch  as  the  honor  of  an  action  de- 


PREFACE.  T 

pended  on  the  manner  in  which  it  was  executed.  No  credit  was  obtained 
by  open  combat,  but  he  that  could  ensnare  and  smite  an  unsuspecting 
enemy  was  highly  to  be  commended. 

It  must  have  very  often  happened  that  the  people  surprised  knew 
nothing  of  any  reason  why  they  were  so  dealt  with,  and  the  injury  for 
which  they  suffered  may  have  been  committed  by  their  ancestors  long 
before  they  had  existence ;  and  the  only  sure  means  a  tribe  had  to  avert 
retaliation  was  extermination!  Hence  the  perpetual  warfare  of  these 
people. 

As  there  are  a  few  other  collections  of  Indian  Narratives  of  a  similar 
character  to  this,  it  may  be  necessary  to  advertise  the  reader  that  such  are 
similar  in  title  only ;  for  in  those  collections  the  compilers  speak  for  their 
captives,  whereas,  in  this,  they  speak  for  themselves.  Those  collectors 
have  not  only  taken  upon  themselves  to  speak  for  their  captives  or  heroes, 
but  have  so  abridged  the  majority  of  their  narratives  that  the  perusal 
of  them  only  gives  dissatisfaction  even  to  the  general  reader.  Mr. 
McClung's  "Sketches  of  Western  Adventure"  is  a  work  of  thrilling 
interest,  but  its  value  is  entirely  lost  in  particular  instances  from  the 
above  considerations.  Dr.  Metcalf  was  earlier,  and  set  out  right,  bu* 
looked  back  with  his  hand  to  the  plough.  I  know  of  no  others  worthy  of 
notice. 

As  several  prominent  narratives  may  be  looked  for  in  this  collection 
without  success,  such  as  those  of  Hannah  Duston,  Rev.  John  Williams, 
&c.,  it  will  be  proper  to  apprize  the  reader  that  those,  and  many  others, 
are  contained  in  the  Book  of  the  Indians. 

I  did  not  design  to  notice  the  works  of  others,  in  Indian  history,  in  this  | 

introduction  ;  but  accidentally  falling  upon  some  acts  of  pre-eminent  injus 
tice  to  my  former  labors,  committed  by  several  compilers,  whose  works, 
from  their  peculiar  point  of  emanation,  or  ostentatious  external  attractions, 
are  calculated  to  fix  in  the  minds  of  their  readers  wrong  impressions  in 
respect  to  the  sources  whence  they  have  drawn  their  information,  I  could 
not,  in  justice  to  myself,  let  them  pass  without  a  notice.  For  an  author 
to  spend  many  of  his  best  years  in  the  most  laborious  investigations  to 
bring  out  a  train  of  facts  upon  an  important  inquiry,  which,  in  all  proba 
bility,  no  other  would  ever  have  taken  the  pains  to  have  done,  from  the 
peculiar  nature  and  difficulty  of  the  undertaking,  or  situation  of  the  mate 
rials  out  of  which  he  had  brought  them,  and  then  to  see  them,  no  sooner 
than  produced,  transferred  to  the  pages  of  others  without  even  a  demand 
for  them  upon  their  author,  is  matter  of  which  I  complain,  and,  to  say  the 
least,  is  too  barefaced  a  piracy  even  for  this  age  of  freebooiing  in  matters 
of  literature.  Had  the  author  of  the  Book  of  the  Indians  been  dead, 
leaving  but  a  single  copy  of  his  work  behind,  and  that  an  unpublished 
manuscript,  some  of  the  compilers,  to  whom  I  allude,  could  scarcely  have 
been  freer  in  their  use  of  it  without  the  hope  of  detection.  No  charge  is 
1* 


Wl  PREFACE. 

tiere  intended  against  such  as  have  copied  whole  pages  into  their  cwn 
works,  where  they  have  even  acknowledged  their  source  of  information ; 
but  I  would  point  the  eyes  of  all  such  as  may  read  this  to  their  own 
pages,  which  have  been  transferred  from  that  work,  or  so  concocted  out 
of  it  as  to  induce  the  belief  that  it  was  the  fruits  of  their  own  labor.  Such 
compilers,  doubtless,  presume  only  their  own  works  will  be  read  on  the 
subject  of  the  Indians ;  or  that  the  obscure  and  humble  author  of  the 
Book  of  the  Indians  had  no  means  of  exposing  their  piracies.  And  even 
now,  "  after  all  said  and  done,"  perhaps  Queen  Victoria  will  never  read 
•this  preface,  or  compare  the  pages  of  the  GREAT  FOLIO  "  Biography  and 
History  of  the  Indians"  with  those  of  the  Book  of  the  Indians ;  yet  there 
•may  be  those  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  who  may  be  benefited  by  this, 
though  indirect,  information.  Besides,  I  am  too  late  now  to  send  a  book 
•to  her  majesty,  with  the  slightest  prospect  of  her  ever  reading  it,  for  the 
very  reason  that  she  has  already  several  books  by  American  authors  on 
hand !  And  if  she  has  read  even  one,  is  it  to  be  presumed  she  would 
ever  read  another  ?  Moreover,  what  would  she  care  whether  Col.  Stone 
gave  me  credit  for  a  fact,  or  Mr.  Thacher,  or  Henry  Trumbull? 


7 

CONTENTS. 

The  following  Table  contains  the  names  of  the  captives,  the  time  of 

their  being  taken,  and  the  duration  of  their  captivity,  where  the  dates 

could  be  ascertained. 

Name  of  Captive.            Whoa  taken.             Where.                   Time  retained.       (Page 

John  Ortiz 

1528 

Florida 

Nine  years 

11 

Mary  Rowlandson 

lOFeb.1676 

Lancaster,  Mass. 

To  12  April,  1676 

20 

Quintin  Stock\vell 

19  Sep.1677 

Deerfield,  Mass. 

About  one  year 

60 

Sarah  Gerish 

28  June,  '89 

Dover,  N.  H. 

Six  months 

70 

Elizabeth  Heard 

28  June,  '89 

Dover,  N.  H. 

Remark'e  escape 

71 

John  Gyles 

2  Aug.  1689 

PemmaquidjMe. 

Six  years 

73 

Robert  Rogers 

27  Mar.  '90 

Salmon  Falls,  N. 

Tortur'd  to  death 

109 

[Hampshire. 

Mehetable  Goodwin 

27    «   1690 

Sal.  Falls,  N.H. 

Five  years 

111 

Thomas  Toogood 

27    «    1690 

Sal.  Falls,  N.  H. 

Fortunate  escape 

112 

Elizabeth  Hanson 

27Jun.l724 

Dover,  N.  H. 

One  yr.  &  6  days 

113 

Nehemiah  How 

11  Oct.  1745 

Great  Meadows, 

Died  in  captivity 

127 

[Mass. 

Mary  Fowler 

22  Ap.  1746 

Hopkinton,  N.H. 

Six  months 

140 

John  Fitch 

July,     1746 

Ashby,  Mass. 

To  close  of  war 

139 

Isabella  M'Coy 

21  Au.  1747 

Epsom,  N.  H. 

To  close  of  war 

143 

Peter  "Williamson 

2  Oct.  1754 

Delaware  Forks, 

One  year  and  3 

147 

[Pa. 

[months. 

Jemima  Howe 

27  Jul.  1755 

Hinsdale,  N.  H. 

About  five  years 

156 

Frances  Noble 

About  1755 

Swan  Island,  Me. 

About  12  years 

165 

Capt.  Jona.  Carver 

9  Aug.  1755 

Ft.  W"m.  Henry 

Made  his  escape 

172 

Col.  James  Smith 

May,    1755 

Bedford,  Pa. 

About  six  years 

178 

Robert  Eastburn 

27  Mar.  '56 

Williams'  Ft.  Pa. 

2  yrs.  &c  8  mo's. 

265 

A  Mrs.  Clendenin 

Year    1763 

Green  Brier,  Va. 

Escaped 

284 

Alexander  Henry 

4  June,  1763 

IVIichilimackinac 

About  one  year 

286 

Frederick  Manheim 

19  Oct.  1779 

Near    Johnston, 

333 

[N.Y. 

Experience  Bozarth 

March,  1779 

Dunkard'sCreek, 

Great  prowess 

334 

{Kentucky. 

John  Corbly 

May,    1782 

Muddy  Crk.  Ky. 

Escape 

335 

Frances  Scott 

29Jun.l785 

Wash'n.  Co.,  Va. 

Escape 

337 

Capt.  Wm.  Hubbell 

23  Mar.  '91 

Ohio  river 

Desp.  encounter 

342 

Massy  Herbeson 

22  Ma.  1792 

Escape 

349 

Serg.  L.  Munson 

17  Oct.1793 

Near  Fort  Jefler- 

Escape,  8  mo's. 

352 

[son,  Ohio. 

ilansom  Clark 

28  Dec.1835 

Florida   [House. 

Escape 

355 

J.  W.  B.  Thompson  (23  Jul.  1836 

Cape  Florida  Lt.  Escape 

357 

INDIAN    CAPTIVITIES 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  OP  JOHN  ORTIZ,  A  SPANIARD,  WHO  W>8 
ELEVEN  YEARS  A  PRISONER  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  OP 
FLORIDA.  B 

IN  the  year  1528  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez,  with  a  commission, 
constituting  him  governor  of  Florida,  or  "  all  the  lands  lying 
from  the  river  of  Palms  to  the  cape  of  Florida,"  sailed  for  that 
country  with  400  foot  and  20  horse,  in  five  shirs.  With  this 
expedition  went  a  Spaniard,  named  John  Ortiz,  a  native  of 
Seville,  whose  connections  were  among  the  nobility  of  Castile. 
Although  we  have  no  account  of  what  part  Ortiz  acted  in 
Narvaez's  expedition,  or  how  he  escaped  its  disastrous  issue, 
yet  it  may  not  be  deemed  out  of  place  to  notice  briefly  here 
that  issue. 

This  Narvaez  had  acquired  some  notoriety  by  the  manner  in 
which  he  had  executed  a  commission  against  Coit?1*.  He  had 
been  ordered  by  the  governor  of  Cuba  to  seize  the  destroyer 
of  Mexico,  but  was  himself  overthrown  and  deserted  by  his 
men.  On  falling  into  the  hands  of  Cortez,  his  arrogance  did 
not.  forsake  him,  and  he  addressed  him  thus  :  "  Esteem  it  ^ood 
fortune  that  you  have  taken  me  prisoner."  "  Nay,"  replied 
Cortez,  "  it  is  the  least  of  the  things  I  have  done  in  Mexico." 
To  return  to  the  expedition  of  which  we  have  promised  to 
speak. 

Narvaez  landed  in  Florida  not  very  far  from,  or  perhaps  at 
the  bay  of  Apalachee,  in  the  month  of  April,  and  marched 
into  the  country  with  his  men.  They  knew  no  other  direction 
but  that  pointed  out  by  the  Indians,  whom  they  compelled  to 
act  as  guides.  Their  first  disappointment  was  on  their  arrival 


10  CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  ORTIZ. 

at  the  village  of  Apalachee,  where,  instead  of  a  splendid  town, 
filled  with  immense  treasure,  as  they  had  anticipated,  they 
found  only  about  40  Indian  wigwams.  When  they  visited 
one  Indian  town  its  inhabitants  would  get  rid  of  them  by  tell 
ing  them  of  another,  where  their  wants  would  be  gratified. 
Such  was  the  manner  in  which  Narvaez  and  his  companions 
rambled  over  800  miles  of  country,  in  about  six  months'  time,  at 
a  vast  expense  of  men  and  necessaries  which  they  carried  with 
them ;  for  the  Indians  annoyed  them  at  every  pass,  not  only 
cutting  off  many  of  the  men,  but  seizing  on  their  baggage  up 
on  every  occasion  which  offered.  Being  now  arrived  upon  the 
coast,  in  a  wretched  condition,  they  constructed  some  miserable 
barks  corresponding  with  their  means,  in  which  none  but  men 
in  such  extremities  would  embark.  In  these  they  coasted  toward 
New  Spain.  When  they  came  near  the  mouths  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  they  were  cast  away  in  a  storm,  and  all  but  15  of  theii 
number  perished.  Out  of  these  15,  4  only  lived  to  reach 
Mexico,  and  these  after  8  years  wholly  spent  in  wanderings 
from  place  to  place,  enduring  incredible  hardships  and  mise 
ries. 

The  next  year  after  the  end  of  Narvaez's  expedition,  the 
intelligence  of  his  disaster  having  reached  his  wife,  whom  he 
left  in  Cuba,  she  fitted  out  a  small  company,  consisting  of  20 
or  30  men,  who  sailed  in  a  brigantine  to  search  after  him, 
hoping  some  fortuitous  circumstance  might  have  prolonged  his 
existence  upon  the  coast,  and  that  he  might  be  found.  Of  this 
number  was  John  Ortiz,  the  subject  of  this  narrative. 

On  their  arrival  there,  they  sought  an  opportunity  to  have 
an  interview  with  the  first  Indians  they  should  meet.  Oppor 
tunity  immediately  offered,  and  as  soon  as  Indians  were  dis 
covered,  the  Spaniards  advanced  towards  them  in  their  boats, 
while  the  Indians  came  down  to  the  shore.  These  wily  peo 
ple  practised  a  stratagem  upon  this  occasion,  which  to  this  day 
seems  a  mysterious  one,  and  we  have  no  means  of  explain 
ing  it. 

Three  or  four  Indians  came  near  the  shore,  and  setting  a 
stick  in  the  ground,  placed  in  a  cleft  in  its  top  a  letter,  and 
withdrawing  a  little  distance,  made  signs  to  the  Spaniards  to 
come  and  take  it.  All  the  company,  except  John  Ortiz  and  one 
more,  refused  to  go  out  for  the  letter,  rightly  judging  it  to  be 
used  only  to  ensnare  them ;  but  Ortiz,  presuming  it  was  from 
Narvaez,  and  containing  some  account  of  himself,  would  not 
be  persuaded  from  venturing  on  shore  to  bring  it,  although  a4l 
the  rest  but  the  one  who  accompanisd  him  strenuously  argued 
against  it. 

Now  there  was  an  Indian  village  very  near  this  place,  and 


CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  ORTIZ.  13 

no  sooner  had  Ortiz  and  his  companion  advanced  to  the  place 
where  the  letter  was  displayed,  than  a  multitude  came  running 
from  it,  and  surrounding  them,  seized  eagerly  upon  them. 
The  number  of  the  Indians  was  so  great,  that  the  Spaniards 
in  the  vessels  did  not  dare  to  attempt  to  rescue  them,  and  saw 
them  carried  forcibly  away.  In  this  first  onset  the  man  who 
accompanied  Ortiz  was  killed,  he  having  made  resistance  when 
lie  was  seized. 

Not  far  from  the  place  where  they,  were  made  prisoners,  was 
another  Indian  town,  or  village,  consisting  of  about  8  or  10 
houses  or  wigwams.  These  houses  were  made  of  wood,  and 
covered  with  palm-leaves.  At  one  end  of  this  village  there 
was  a  building,  which  the  captive  called  a  temple,  but  of  what 
dimensions  it  was  he  makes  no  mention.  Over  the  door  of 
entrance  into  this  temple  the.re  was  placed  the  figure  of  a  bird, 
carved  out  in  wood,  and  it  was  especially  surprising  that  this 
bird  had  gilded  eyes.  No  attempt  is  made  by  Ortiz  even  to 
conjecture  how  or  by  whom  the  art  of  gilding  was  practised, 
in  this  wild  and  distant  region,  nor  does  he  mention  meeting 
with  any  other  specimen  of  that  art  during  his  captivity.  At 
the  opposite  extremity  of  this  village  stood  the  house  of  the 
chief,  or  cazique,  as  he  was  often  called,  upon  an  eminence, 
raised,  as  it  was  supposed,  for  a  fortification.  These  things  re 
mained  the  same  ten  years  afterwards,  and  are  mentioned  by 
the  historian  of  Fernando  De  Soto's  Invasion  of  Florida.  The 
name  of  the  chief  of  this  village  was  Ucita,  before  whom  was 
presented  the  captive,  Ortiz,  who  was  condemned  to  suffer  im 
mediate  death. 

The  manner  of  his  death  was  by  torture,  which  was  to  be 
effected  in  this  wise.  The  executioners  set  four  stakes  in  the 
ground,  and  to  these  they  fastened  four  poles ;  the  captive  was 
then  taken,  and  with  his  arms  and  legs  extended,  was  bjahem 
bound  to  these  poles,  at  such  a  distance  from  the  grountf,  that 
a  fire,  made  directly  under  him,  would  ^e  a  long  time  in  con 
suming  him.  Never  did  a  poor  victim  lou  ~  with  greater  cer 
tainty  to  death  for  relief,  than  did  John  Urtiz  at  this  time. 
The  fire  had  already  begun  to  rage,  when  a  most  remarkable 
circumstance  happened  to  save  his  life — a  daughter  of  the 
stern  Ucita  arose  and  plead  for  him.  Among  other  things  she 
said  these  to  her  father:  "My  kind  father,  why  kill  this  poor 
stranger?  he  can  do  you  nor  any  of  us  any  injury,  seeing  he 
is  but  one  and  alone.  1>  is  better  that  you  should  keep  him 
confined ;  for  even  in  that  condition  he  may  sometime  be  of 
#r«at  service  to  you."  The  chief  was  silent  for  a  short  time, 
but  finally  ordered  him  to  be  released  from  his  place  of  torture. 
They  had  no  sooner  taken  the  thongs  from  his  wrists  and 
2 


14  CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  ORTIZ. 

ankles,  than  they  proceeded  to  wash  and  dress  his  wounds,  and 
to  do  things  to  make  him  comfortable. 

As  soon  as  his  wounds  were  healed,  Ortiz  was  stationed  at 
the  entrance  of  the  temple,  before  mentioned,  to  guard  it 
against  such  as  were  not  allowed  to  enter  there  :  but  espe 
cially  to  guard  its  being  profaned  by  wild  beasts  ;  for  as  it  was 
a  place  of  sacrifices,  wolves  were  its  constant  visitors.  He  had 
not  long  been  in  this  office,  when  an  event  occurred,  which 
threw  him  into  great  consternation.  Human  victims  were 
brought  in  as  sacrifices  and  deposited  here  ;  and  not  long  after 
Ortiz  had  been  placed  as  sentinel,  the  body  of  a  young  Indian 
was  brought  and  laid  upon  a  kind  of  sarcophagus,  which, 
from  the  multitudes  that  had  from  time  to  time  been  offered 
there,  was  surrounded  with  blood  and  bones !  a  most  rueful 
sight,  as  ever  any  eye  beheld ! — here  an  arm  fresh  torn  from 
its  place,  reeking  with  blood,  another  exhibiting  but  bone  and 
sinews  from  the  mangling  jaws  of  wild  beasts!  Such  was 
the  place  he  was  ordered  to  guard,  through  day  and  night — 
doomed  to  sit  himself  down  among  this  horrible  assemblage 
of  the  dead.  When  left  alone  he  reflected  that  his  escape 
from  fire  was  not  so  fortunate  for  him  as  he  had  hoped  ;  for 
now,  his  naturally  superstitious  mind  was  haunted  by  the  pres 
ence  of  innumerable  ghosts,  who  stalked  in  every  place,  and 
which  he  had  from  his  youth  been  taught  to  believe  were  capa 
ble  of  doing  him  all  manner  of  injuries,  even  to  the  depriving 
of  life. 

There  was  no  reflection  in  those  remote  ages  of  the  real 
situation  of  all  the  living,  in  respect  to  the  great  valley  of  death 
in  which  all  beings  are  born  and  nursed,  and  which  no  length 
of  years  is  sufficient  to  carry  them  through.  Let  us  for  a  mo 
ment  cast  our  eyes  around  us.  Where  are  we  ?  Not  in  the 
same  temple  with  Ortiz,  but  in  one  equally  vast.  We  can  see 
nothiflf  but  death  in  every  place.  The  very  ground  we  walk 
upon  is  composed  of  the  decayed  limbs  of  our  own  species,  with 
those  of  a  hundred  others.  A  succession  of  animals  have  been 
rising  and  falling  for  many  thousand  years  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  They  have  died  all  around  us — in  our  very  places. 
We  do  not  distinctly  behold  the  hands,  the  feet,  or  the  bones  of 
them,  because  they  have  crumbled  to  dust  beneath  our  feet. 
And  cannot  the  ghosts  of  these  as  well  arise  as  of  those  slain 
yesterday  ?  The  affirmative  cannot  be  denied. 

As  we  nave  said,  Ortiz  found  himself  snatched  from  one 
dreadful  death,  only,  as  he  imagined,  to  be  thrust  into  the  jaws 
of  another,  yet  more  terrible.  Experience,  however,  so^n 
proved  to  him,  that  the  dead,  at  least  those  with  whom  he  was 
forced  to  dwell,  either  could  or  would  not  send  forth  their 


CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  ORTIZ.  15 

spirits  in  any  other  shape  than  such  phantoms  as  his  own  mind 
created,  in  dreams  and  reveries.  We  can  accustom  ourselves 
to  almost  anything,  and  it  was  not  long  before  our  captive 
contemplated  the  dead  hodies  with  which  he  was  surrounded, 
with  about  the  same  indifference  as  he  did  the  walls  of  the 
temple  that  encompassed  them. 

How  long  after  Ortiz  had  been  placed  to  guard  the  temple 
of  sacrifices  the  following  fearful  midnight  adventure  hap 
pened,  we  have  no  means  of  stating  with  certainty,  nor  is  it 
very  material ;  it  is,  however,  according  to  his  own  account,  as 
follows :  A  young  Indian  had  been  killed  and  his  body  placed 
in  this  temple.  Late  one  night,  Ortiz  found  it  closely  invested 
by  wolves,  which,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  entered  the  place, 
and  carried  away  the  body  of  the  Indian.  The  fright  and  the 
darkness  were  so  heavy  upon  Ortiz  that  he  knew  not  that  the 
body  was  missing  until  morning.  It  appears,  however,  that  he 
recovered  himself,  seized  a  heavy  cudgel,  which  he  had  pre 
pared  at  hand,  and  commenced  a  general  attack  upon  the  beasts 
in  the  temple,  and  not  only  drove  them  out,  but  pursued  them 
a  good  way  from  the  place.  In  the  pursuit  he  came  up  with 
one  which  he  gave  a  mortal  blow,  although  he  did  not  know  it 
at  the  time.  Having  returned  from  this  hazardous  adventure 
to  the  temple,  he  impatiently  awaited  the  return  of  daylight. 
When  the  day  dawned,  great  was  his  distress  at  the  discovery 
of  the  loss  of  the  body  of  the  dead  Indian,  which  was  especially 
aggravated,  because  it.was  the  son  of  a  great  chief. 

When  the  news  of  this  affair  came  to  the  ears  of  Ucita,  he 
at  once  resolved  to  have  Ortiz  put  to  death ;  but  before  execut 
ing  his  purpose  he  sent  out  several  Indians  to  pursue  after  the 
wolves,  to  recover,  if  possible,  the  sacrifice.  Contrary  to  all 
expectation,  the  body  was  found,  and  not  far  from  it  the  body  of 
a  huge  wolf  also.  When  Ucita  learned  these  facts,  he  coun 
termanded  the  order  for  his  execution. 

Three  long  years  was  Ortiz  doomed  to  watch  this  wretched 
temple  of  the  dead.  At  the  end  of  this  time  he  was  relieved 
only  by  the  overthrow  of  the  power  of  Ucita.  This  was  ef 
fected  by  a  war  between  the  two  rival  chiefs,  Ucita  and  Mo- 
coso. 

The  country  over  which  Mocoso  reigned  was  only  two  days* 
journey  from  that  of  Ucita,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  large 
river  or  estuary.  Mocoso  came  upon  the  village  of  Ucita  in 
the  night  with  an  army,  and  attacked  his  castle,  and  took 
it,  and  also  the  rest  of  his  town.  Ucita  and  his  people  fled 
from  it  with  all  speed,  and  the  warriors  of  Mocoso  burnt 
it  to  the  ground.  Ucita  had  another  village  upon  the  coast, 
not  far  from  the  former,  to  which  he  and  his  people  fled,,  and 


16  CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  ORTIZ. 

were  not  pursued  by  their  enemies.  Soon  after  he  had  esta 
blished  himself  in  his  new  residence,  he  resolved  upon  making 
a  sacrifice  of  Ortiz.  Here  again  he  was  wonderfully  preserved, 
by  the  same  kind  friend  that  had  delivered  him  at  the  begin 
ning  of  his  captivity.  The  daughter  of  the  chief,  knowing 
her  intreaties  would  avail  nothing  with  her  father,  determined 
to  aid  him  to  make  an  escape ;  accordingly,  she  had  prepared 
the  way  for  his  reception  with  her  father's  enemy,  Mocoso. 
She  found  means  to  pilot  him  secretly  out  of  her  father's  vil 
lage,  and  accompanied  him  a  league  or  so  on  his  way,  and 
then  left  him  with  directions  how  to  proceed  to  the  residence 
of  Mocoso.  Having  travelled  all  night  as  fast  as  he  could, 
Ortiz  found  himself  next  morning  upon  the  borders  of  the  river 
which  bounded  the  territories  of  the  two  rival  chiefs.  He  was 
now  thrown  into  great  trouble,  for  he  could  not  proceed  farther 
without  discovery,  two  of  Mocoso's  men  being  then  fishing  in 
the  river  ;  and,  although  he  came  as  a  friend,  yet  he  had  no 
way  to  make  that  known  to  them,  not  understanding  their  lan 
guage,  nor  having  means  wherewith  to  discover  his  character 
by  a  sign.  At  length  he  observed  their  arms,  which  they  had 
left  at  considerable  distance  from  the  place  where  they  then 
were.  Therefore,  as  his  only  chance  of  succeeding  in  his  en 
terprise,  he  crept  slyly  up  and  seized  their  arms  to  prevent 
their  injuring  him.  When  they  saw  this  they  fled  with  all 
speed  towards  their  town.  Ortiz  followed  them  for  some  dis 
tance,  trying  by  language  as  well  as  by  signs  to  make  them 
understand  that  he  only  wished  protection  with  them,  but  all 
in  vain,  and  he  gave  up  the  pursuit  and  waited  quietly  the 
result.  It  was  not  long  before  a  large  party  came  running 
armed  towards  him,  and  when  they  approached,  he  was  obliged 
to  cover  himself  behind  trees  to  avoid  their  arrows.  Never 
theless  his  chance  of  being  killed  seemed  tx.  H^n,  and  thai 
verjftepeedily ;  but  it  providentially  happened,  that  there  was 
an  Indian  among  them  who  now  surrounded  him,  who  under 
stood  the  language  in  which  he  spoke,  and  thus  he  was  again 
rescued  from  another  perilous  situation. 

Having  now  surrendered  himself  into  the  hands  of  the  In 
dians,  four  of  their  number  were  dispatched  to  carry  the  tidings 
to  Mocoso,  and  to  learn  his  pleasure  in  regard  to  the  disposition 
to  be  made  of  him  ;  but  instead  of  sending  any  word  of  direc 
tion,  Mocoso  went  himself  out  to  meet  Ortiz.  When  he  came 
to  him, 'he  expressed  great  joy  at  seeing  him,  and  made  every 
profession  that  he  would  treat  him  well.  Ortiz,  however,  had 
seen  enough  of  Indians  to  warn  him  against  a  too  implicit 
confidence  in  his  pretensions  ;  and  what  added  in  no  small 
degree  to  his  doubts  about  his  future  destiny,  was  this  very 


CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  ORTIZ.  17 

extraordinary  circumstance.  Immediately  after  the  preliminary 
congratulations  were  over,  the  chief  made  him  take  an  oath, 
"  after  the  manner  of  Christians,"  that  he  would  not  run  away 
from  him  to  seek  out  another  master ;  to  which  he  very  readily 
assented.  At  the  same  time  Mocoso,  on  his  part,  promised 
Ortiz  that  he  would  not  only  treat  him  with  due  kindness,  but, 
that  if  ever  an-  opportunity  offered  by  which  he  could  return  to 
his  own  people,  he  would  do  all  in  his  power  to  assist  him  in 
it ;  and,  to  keep  his  word  inviolate,  he  swore  to  what  he  had 
promised,  "  after  the  manner  of  the  Indians."  Nevertheless, 
our  captive  looked  upon  all  this  in  no  other  light  than  as  a 
piece  of  cunning,  resorted  to  by  the  chief,  to  make  him  only  a 
contented  slave ;  but  we  shall  see  by  the  sequel,  that  this  In 
dian  chief  dealt  not  in  European  guile,  and  that  he  was  actuated 
only  by  benevolence  of  heart. 

Three  years  more  soon  passed  over  the  head  of  Ortiz,  and 
he  experienced  nothing  but  kindness  and  liberty.  He  spent 
his  time  in  wandering  over  the  delightful  savannahs  of  Florida, 
and  through  the  mazes  of  the  palmetto,  and  beneath  the  re 
freshing  shades  of  the  wide-spreading  magnolia — pursuing 
the  deer  in  the  twilight  of  morning,  and  the  scaly  fry  in  the 
silver  lakes  in  the  cool  of  the  evening.  In  all  this  time  we 
hear  of  nothing  remarkable  that  happened  to  Ortiz,  or  to  the 
chief  or  his  people.  When  war  or  famine  does  not  disturb  the 
quiet  of  Indians  %they  enjoy  themselves  to  the  full  extent  of 
their  natures— perfectly  at  leisure,  and  ready  to  devote  days 
together  to  the  entertainment  of  themselves,  and  any  travel 
lers  or  friends  that  may  sojourn  with  them. 

About  the  close  of  the  first  three  years  of  Ortiz's  sojourning 
with  the  tribe  of  Indians  under  Mocoso,  there  came  startling 
intelligence  into  their  village,  and  alarm  and  anxiety  sat  im 
patiently  upon  the  brow  of  all  the  inhabitants.  This  was 
occasioned  by  the  arrival  of  a  runner,  who  gave  information 
that  as  some  of  Mocoso's  men  were  in  their  canoes  a  great  way 
out  at  sea  fishing,  they  had  discovered  ships  of  the  white  men 
approaching  their  coast.  Mocoso,  after  communing  with  him 
self  a  short  time,  went  to  Ortiz  with  the  information,  which, 
when  he  had  imparted  it  to  him,  caused  peculiar  sensations  in 
his  breast,  and  a  brief  struggle  with  conflicting  feelings  ;  for 
one  cannot  forget  his  country  and  kindred,  nor  can  he  forget 
his  savior  and  protector.  In  short,  Mocoso  urged  him  to  go  to 
the  coast  and  see  if  he  could  make  a  discovery  of  the  ships. 
This  proceeding  on  the  part  of  the  chief  silenced  the  fears  of 
Ortiz,  and  he  set  out  upon  the  discovery;  but  when  he  had 
spent  several  days  of  watchfulness  and  eager  expectation,  with 
out  seeing  or  gaining  any  other  intelligence  of  ships,  he  was 


*      a 


18  CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  ORTIZ. 

ready  to  accuse  the  chief  of  practising  deception  upon  him,  to 
try  his  fidelity ;  he  was  soon  satisfied,  however,  that  his  sus 
picions  were  without  foundation,  although  no  other  information 
was  ever  gained  of  ships  at  that  time. 

At  length,  when  six  years  more  had  elapsed,  news  of  a  less 
doubtful  character  was  brought  to  the  village  of  Mocoso.  It 
was,  that  some  white  people  had  actually  landed  upon  their 
coast,  and  had  possessed  themselves  of  the  village  of  Ucista, 
and  driven  out  him  and  his  men.  Mocoso  immediately  im 
parted  this  information  to  Ortiz,  who,  presuming  it  was  an  idle 
tale,  as  upon  the  former  occasion,  affected  to  care  nothing  for 
it,  and  told  his  chief  that  no  wordly  thing  would  induce  him  to 
leave  his  present  master ;  but  Mocoso  persisted,  and  among 
arguments  advanced  this,  that  he  had  done  his  duty,  and  that 
if  Ortiz  would  not  go  out  and  seek  his  white  brethren,  and 
they  should  leave  the  country,  and  him  behind,  he  could  not 
blame  him,  and  withal  seriously  confirming  the  news.  In  the 
end  he  concluded  to  go  out  once  more,  and  after  thanking  his 
chief  for  his  great  kindness,  set  off,  with  twelve  of  his  best 
men  whom  Mocoso  had  appointed  for  his  guides,  to  find  the 
white  people. 

When  they  had  proceeded  a  considerable  part  of  the  way, 
they  came  into  a  plain,  and  suddenly  in  sight  of  a  party  of  120 
men,  who  proved  to  be  some  of  those  of  whom  they  Had  heard. 
When  they  discovered  Ortiz  and  his  men,  they  pressed  towards 
them  in  warlike  array,  and  although  they  made  every  signal 
of  friendship  in  their  power,  yet  these  white  men  rushed  upon 
them,  barbarously  wounding  two  of  them,  and  the  others  saved 
themselves  only  by  flight.  Ortiz  himself  came  near  being 
killed.  A  horseman  rushed  upon  him,  knocked  him  down, 
and  was  prevented  from  dealing  a  deadly  blow  only  by  a 
timely  ejaculation  in  Spanish  which  he  made.  It  was  in  these 
words  :  "  I  am  a  Christian — do  not  kill  me,  nor  these  poor  men 
who  have  given  me  my  life." 

It  was  not  until  this  moment  that  the  soldiers  discovered 
their  mistake,  of  friends  for  enemies,  for  Ortiz  was,  in  all  ap 
pearance,  an  Indian;  and  now,  with  the  aid  of  Ortiz,  his  attend 
ing  Indians  were  collected,  and  they  were  all  carried  to  the 
camp  of  the  white  men,  each  riding  behind  a  soldier  upon  his 
horse. 

Ortiz  now  found  himself  among  an  army  of  Spaniards, 
commanded  by  one  Fernando  De  Soto,  who  had  come  into  that 
country  with  a  great  armament  of  600  men  in  7  ships,  in  search 
of  riches ;  an  expedition  undertaken  with  great  ostentation, 
raised  by  the  expectation  of  what  it  was  to  afford,  but  it  ended, 
as  all  such  undertakings  should,  in  disgrace  and  mortification. 


CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  ORTIZ.  J9 

Soto  considered  the  acquisition  of  Ortiz  of  very  great  impor 
tance,  for  although  he  could  not  direct  him  to  any  mountains 
of  gold  or  silver,  yet  he  was  acquainted  with  the  language  of 
the  Indians,  and  he  kept  him  with  him  during  his  memorable 
expedition,  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  interpreter. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1543,  that  the  ferocious  and  savage 
Soto  fell  a  prey  to  his  misguided  ambition.  Ortiz  had  died  a 
few  months  before,  and  with  him  fall  the  already  disappointed 
hopes  of  his  leader.  They  had  taken  up  winter  quarters  at  a 
place  called  Autiamque,  upon  the  Washita,  or  perhaps  Red 
River,  and  it  was  here  that  difficulties  began  to  thicken  upon 
them.  When  in  the  spring  they  would  march  from  thence, 
Soto  was  grieved,  because  he  had  lost  so  good  an  interpreter, 
and  readily  felt  that  difficulties  were  clustering  around  in  a 
much  more  formidable  array.  Hitherto,  when  they  were  at  a 
loss  for  a  knowledge  of  the  country,  all  they  had  to  do  was  to 
lie  in  wait  and  seize  upon  some  Indian,  and  Ortiz  always  could 
understand  enough  of  the  language  to  relieve  them  from  all 
perplexity  about  their  course  ;  but  now  they  had  no  other 
interpreter  but  a  young  Indian  of  Cutifachiqui,  who  understood 
a  little  Spanish  ;  "  yet  it  required  sometimes  a  whole  day  for 
him  to  explain  what  Ortiz  would  have  done  in  four  words.'* 
At  other  times  he  was  so  entirely  misunderstood,  that  after 
they  had  followed  his  direction  through  a  tedious  march  of  a 
whole  day,  they  would  find  themselves  obliged  to  return  again 
to  the  same  place." 

Such  was  the  value  of  Ortiz  in  the  expedition  of  Soto,  as 
that  miserable  man  conceived  ;  but  had  not  Soto  fallen  in  with 
him,  how  different  would  have  been  the  fate  of  a  multitude  of 
men,  Spaniards  and  Indians.  Upon  the  whole,  it  is  hard  to 
say  which  was  the  predominant  trait  in  the  character  of  Soto 
and  his  followers,  avarice  or  cruelty. 

At  one  time,  because  their  guides  had  led  them  out  of  the 
way,  Moscoso,  the  successor  of  Soto,  caused  them  to  be  hanged 
upon  a  tree  and  there  left.  Another,  in  the  early  part  of  tho 
expedition,  was  saved  from  the  fangs  of  dogs,  at  the  interfer 
ence  of  Ortiz,  because  he  was  the  only  Indian  through  whom 
Ortiz  could  get  information.  It  is  as  difficult  to  decide  which 
was  the  more  superstitious,  the  Indians  or  the  self-styled 
"  Christian  Spaniards  ;"  for  when  Soto  died  a  chief  came  and 
offered  two  young  Indians  to  be  killed,  that  they  might  accom 
pany  and  serve  the  white  man  to  the  world  of  spirits.  An 
Indian  guide  being  violently  seized  with  some  malady,  fell 
senseless  to  the  ground.  To  raise  him,  and  drive  away  the 
devil  which  they  supposed  was  in  him,  they  read  a  passage 
9ver  his  body  from  the  Bible,  and  he  immediately  recovered. 


21 


20  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

Thus  we  have  given  all  the  particulars  we  can  derive  from 
authentic  sources  of  the  captivity  and  death  of  John  Ortiz. 
Of  Soto's  expedition,  about  which  many  writers  of  talents  and 
respectability  have  employed  their  pens,  it  was  not  our  inten 
tion  particularly  to  speak,  but  can  refer  those,  whose  curiosity 
would  lead  them  to  pursue  it,  to  a  new  edition  of  my  CHRONI 
CLES  OF  THE  INDIANS,  shortly  to  be  published  ;  but  for  a  rapid 
and  splendid  glance  over  that  ground,  I  will  refer  the  reader  to 
the  first  volume  of  Mr.  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States. 
And  yet  if  he  would  go  into  minute  details,  there  is  the  work 
of  Mr.  John  T.  Irving,  which  will  leave  little  else  to  be  looked 
for. 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  OF  MRS.  MARY  ROWLANDSON,  WIFE  OF 
THE  REV.  JOSEPH  ROWLANDSON,  WHO  WAS  TAKEN  PRIS 
ONER  WHEN  LANCASTER  WAS  DESTROYED,  IN  THE  YEAR 
1676;  WRITTEN  BY  HERSELF. 


I  print  this  edition  of  Mrs.  Rowlandson's  Narrative  from  the  second 
Lancaster  edition,  \vith  a  selection  of  the  notes  to  that  edition,  by  JOSEPH 
WILLARD,  Esq.,  which  was  printed  in  1828.  Mr.  Willard  calls  his  the 
sixth  edition.  My  own  notes  are,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  work,  signed 
Ed.  

ON  the  10th  of  February,  1676,  came  the  Indians  with  great 
numbers*  upon  Lancaster:  their  first  coming  was  about  sun- 
rising.  Hearing  the  noise  of  some  guns,  we  looked  out;  seve 
ral  houses  were  burning,  and  the  smoke  ascending  to  heaven. 
There  were  five  persons  taken  in  one  house ;  the  father  and 
mother,  and  a  sucking  child  they  knocked  on  the  head,  the 
other  two  they  took  and  carried  away  alive.  There  were  two 
others,  who,  being  out  of  their  garrison  upon  occasion,  were  set 
upon,  one  was  knocked  on  the  head,  the  other  escaped.  An 
other  there  was,  who,  running  along,  was  shot  and  wounded, 
and  fell  down ;  he  begged  of  them  his  life,  promising  them 
money,  as  they  told  me,  but  they  would  not  hearken  to  him, 
but  knocked  him  on  the  head,  stripped  him  naked,  anc1 
split  open  his  bowels.  Another,  seeing  many  of  the  Indiana 

*  Fifteen  hundred  was  the  number,  according  to  the  best  authorities. 
They  were  the  Wamponoags,  led  by  King  Philip,  accompanied  by  the 
Narrha^ansetts,  his  allies,  and  also  by  the  Nipmucks  and  Nashaways, 
whom  his  artful  eloquence  had  persuaded  to  join  with  him. 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  21 

about  his  barn,  ventured  and  went  out,  but  was  quickly  shot 
down.  There  were  three  others  belonging  to  the  same  garri 
son  who  were  killed ;  the  Indians  getting  up  upon  the  roof  of 
the  barn,  had  advantage  to  shoot  down  upon  them  over  their  for 
tification.  Thus  thes-e  murderous  wretches  went  on  burning 
and  destroying  all  before  them.^ 

At  length  they  came  and  beset  our  house,  and  quickly  it  was 
die  dole fu lest  day  that  ever  mine  eyes  saw.  The  house  stood 
upon  the  edge  of  a  hill ;  t  some  of  the  Indians  got  behind  the 
hill,  others  into  the  barn,  and  others'  behind  any  thing  that 
would  shelter  them ;  from  all  which  places  they  shot  against 
the  house,  so  that  the  bullets  seemed  to  fly  like  hail,  and  quick 
ly  they  wounded  one  man  among  us,  then  another,  and  then  a 
third.  About  two  hours,  according  to  my  observation  in  that 
amazing  time,  they  had  been  about  the  house  before  they  pre 
vailed  to  fire  it,  which  they  did  with  flax  and  hemp  which 
they  brought  out  of  the  barn,  and  there  being  no  defence  about 
the  house,  only  two  flankers  at  two  opposite  corners,  and  one 
of  them  not  finished;  they  fired  it  once,  and  one  ventured  out 
and  quenched  it,  but  they  quickly  fired  it  again,  and  that  took* 
Now  is  the  dreadful  hour  come  that  I  have  often  heard  of  in 
dme  of  the  war,  as  it  was  the  case  of  others,  but  now  mine 
eyes  see  it.  Some  in  our  house  were  fighting  for  their  lives^ 
others  wallowing  in  blood,  the  house  on  fire  over  our  heads, 
and  the  bloody  heathen  ready  to  knock  us  on  the  head  if  we 
stirred  out.  Now  might  we  hear  mothers  and  children  crying 
out  for  themselves  and  one  another,  "  Lord,  what  shall  ive  do  !  " 
Then  I  took  my  children,  and  one  of  my  sisters  [Mrs.  DrewJ 
hers  to  go  forth  and  leave  the  house,  but  as  soon  as  we  came 
to  the  door  and  appeared,  the  Indians  shot  so  thick  that  the 
bullets  rattled  against  the  house  as  if  one  had  taken  a  handful 
of  stones  and  threw  them,  so  that  we  were  forced  to  give  back. 

*  Mr.  Willard,  in  his  History  of  Lancaster,  says  he  cannot  ascertain 
that  attacks  were  made  in  more  than  two  places  previous  to  that  upoi* 
Mr.  Rowlandson's  house ;  the  first  of  which  was  Wheeler's  gnrrison,  at 
Wataqnodoc  hill,  now  south-west  part  of  Bolton.  Here  they  killed  Jonas 
Fairbanks  and  Joshua  his  son,  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  Richard  Wheeler. 
Wheeler  had  been  in  town  about  fifteen  years.  The  second  was  Pres- 
cott's  garrison,  near  Poignand  and  Plant's  cotton  factory.  Ephraim 
Sa\vyer  was  killed  here  ;  and  Henry  Farrar  and  a  Mr.  Ball  and  his  wife 
in  other  places. 

f  Mr.  Rowlandson's  house  was  on  the  brow  of  a  small  hill,  on  land  now 
owned  by  Nathaniel  Chandler.  Esq.,  about  a  third  of  a  mile  south-west  of 
the  meeting-house,  on  the  road  leading  from  the  centre  of  the  town  to  the 
village  called  New-Boston,  about  two  rods  from  the  road,  which  at  that 
time  ran  near  the  house. 


22  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

We  had  six  stout  dogs  belonging  to  our  garrison,1*  but  none  of 
them  would  stir,  though  at  another  time  if  an  Indian  had  come 
to  the  door,  they  were  ready  to  fly  upon  him  and  tear  him 
down.  The  Lord  hereby  would  make  us  the  more  to  acknow 
ledge  his  hand,  and  to  see  that  our  help  is  always  in  him.  But 
out  we  must  go,  the  fire  increasing,  and  coming  along  behind  us 
roaring,  and  the  Indians  gaping  before  us  with  their  guns, 
spears,  and  hatchets  to  devour  us.  No  sooner  were  we  out  of 
the  house,  but  my  brother-in-lawt  (being  before  wounded  in 
defending  the  house,  in'  or  near  the  throat)  fell  down  dead, 
whereat  the  Indians  scornfully  shouted  and  hollowed,  and  were 
presently  upon  him,  stripping  off  his  clothes.  The  bullets  fly 
ing  thick,  one  went  through  my  side,  and  the  same,  as  would 
seem,  through  the  bowels  and  hand  of  my  poor  child  in  my 
arms.  One  of  my  elder  sister's  children,  named  William,  had 
then  his  leg  broke,  which  the  Indians  perceiving,  they  knocked 
him  on  the  head.  Thus  were  we  butchered  by  those  merciless 
heathens,  standing  amazed,  with  the  blood  running  down  to 
our  heels.  My  eldest  sister t  being  yet  in  the  house,  and  see 
ing  those  woful  sights,  the  infidels  hailing  mothers  one  way 
and  children  another,  and  some  wallowing  in  their  blood  ;  and 
her  eldest  son  telling  her  that  her  son  Wi-lliam  was  dead,  and 
myself  was  wounded,  she  said,  "  Lord,  let  me  die  with  them  :" 
which  was  no  sooner  said  but  she  was  struck  with  a  bullet, 
and  fell  down  dead  over  the  threshold.  I  hope  she  is  reaping  • 
the  fruit  of  her  good  labors,  being  faithful  to  the  service  of 
God  in  her  place.  In  her  younger  years  she  lay  under  much 
trouble  upon  spiritual  accounts,  till  it  pleased  God  to  make  that 
precious  scripture  take  hold  of  her  heart,  2  Cor.  12 :  9, — "  And 
he  said  unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee"  More  than 
twenty  years  after,  I  have  heard  her  tell  how  sweet  and  com 
fortable  that  place  was  to  her.  But  to  return :  The  Indians 
laid  hold  of  us,  pulling  me  one  way  and  the  children  another, 
and  said,  "  Come,  go  along  with  us"  I  told  them  they  would 
kill  me ;  they  answered,  If  I  loere  willing  to  go  along  with 
them  they  would  not  hurt  me. 

Oh!  the  doleful  sight  that  now  was  to  behold  at  this  house! 
Come,  behold  the  works  of  the  Lord,  what  desolations  he  has 
made  in  the  earth.  Of  thirty-seven  §  persons  who  were  in  this 

*  Mr.  Rowlandson's  house  was  filled  with  soldiers  and  inhabitants,  to 
the  number  of  forty-two. 

f  Thomas  Rowlandson,  brother  to  the  clergyman. 

$  Mrs.  Kerley,  wife  of  Capt.  Henry  Kerley,  to  whom  she  was  married 
m  1654. 

$  We  have  stated  in  a  previous  note  that  there  were  forty-two  persons 


r — 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  23 

one  house,  none  escaped  either  present  death,  or  a  bitter  cap 
tivity,  save  only  one,^  who  might  say  as  in  Job  1 :  15, — "And 
I  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  the  news."  There  were  twelve 
killed,  some  shot,  some  stabbed  with  their  spears,  some  knock 
ed  down  with  their  hatchets.  When  we  are  in  prosperity,  Oh 
the  little  that  we  think  of  such  dreadful  sights,  to  see  our  dear 
friends  arid  relations  lie  bleeding  out  their  hearts-blood  upon 
the  ground.  There  was  one  who  was  chopt  in  the  head  with 
a  hatchet,  and  stript  naked,  and  yet  was  crawling  up  and  down. 
It  was  a  solemn  sight  to  see  so  many  Christians  lying  in  their 
blood,  some  here  and  some  there,  like  a  company  of  sheep 
torn  by  wolves  ;  all  of  them  stript  naked  by  a  company  of 
hell-hounds,  roaring,  singing,  ranting,  and  insulting,  as  if  they 
would  have  torn  our  very  hearts  out;  yet  the  Lord,  by  his 
almighty  power,  preserved  a  number  of  us  from  death,  for  there 
were  twenty-four  of  us  taken  alive  and  carried  captive. 

I  had  often  before  this  said,  that  if  the  Indians  should  come, 
I  should  choose  rather  to  be  killed  by  them  than  taken  alive,  but 
when  it  came  to  the  trial,  my  mind  changed ;  their  glittering 
weapons  so  daunted  my  spirit,  that  I  chose  rather  to  go  along 
with  those  (as  I  may  say)  ravenous  bears,  than  that  moment 
to  end  my  days.  And  that  I  may  the  better  declare  what  hap 
pened  to  me  during  that  grievous  captivity,  I  shall  particularly 
speak  of  the  several  Removes  we  had  up  and  down  the  wil 
derness. 

THE  ' FIRST  REMOVE. — Now  away  we  must  go  with  those 
barbarous  creatures,  with  our  bodies  wounded  and  bleeding, 
and  our  hearts  no  less  than  our  bodies.  About  a  mile  we  went 
that  night,  up  upon  a  hill,t  within  sight  of  the  town,  where 
we  intended  to  lodge.  There  was  hard  by  a  vacant  house,  de 
serted  by  the  English  before,  for  fear  of  the  Indians  ;  I  asked 
them  whether  I  might  not  lodge  in  the  house  that  night ;  to 
which  they  answered,  "What,  will  you  love  Englishmen  still  ?" 
This  was  the  dolefulest  night  -that  ever  my  eyes  saw.  Oh  the 
roaring,  and  singing,  and  dancing,  and  yelling  of  those  black 
creatures  in  the  night,  which  made  the  place  a  lively  resem- 

.n  the  house,  in  which  number  are  included  five  soldiers  not  reckoned  by 
Mrs.  Rowlandson. 

*  Ephraim  Roper,  whose  wife  was  killed  in  attempting  to  escape. 

|  George  Hill,  which  has  been  so  called  for  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  It  is  said  to  have  taken  its  name  from  an  Indian  whom  the 
English  called  George,  and  who  had  a  wigwam  upon  it.  The  name  in 
cludes  the  whole  range  of  the  fertile  and  delightful  ridge  on  the  west  side 
of  the  town,  nearly  two  miles  in  extent.  From  the  southern  part,  which 
is  almost  a  distinct  hill,  is  a  fine  view  of  the  town  and  surrounding  coun 
try. 


24  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

blance  of  hell.  And  miserable  was  the  waste  that  was  there 
made  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  calves,  lambs,  roasting 
pigs,  and  fowls,  (which  they  had  plundered  in  the  town,)  some 
roasting,  some  lying  and  burning,  and  some  boiling,  to  feed  our 
merciless  enemies;  who  were  joyful  enough,  though  we  were 
disconsolate.  To  add  to  the  dolefulness  of  the  former  day, 
and  the  dismalness  of  the  present  night,  my  thoughts  ran  upon 
my  losses  and  sad,  bereaved  condition.  All  was  gone,  my  hus 
band  gone,*  (at  least  separated  from  me,  he  being  in  the  Bay ; 
and  to  add  to  my  grief,  the  Indians  told  me  they  would  kill 
him  as  he  came  homeward,)  my  children  gone,  my  relations 
and  friends  gone,t  our  house  and  home,  and  all  our  comforts 
within  door  and  without,  all  was  gone,  (except  my  life,)  and  I 
knew  not  but  the  next  moment  that  might  go  too. 

There  remained  nothing  to  me  but  one  poor,  wounded  babe; 
and  it  seemed  at  present  worse  than  death,  that  it  was  in  such 
a  pitiful  condition,  bespeaking  compassion,  and  I  had  no  re 
freshing  for  it,  nor  suitable  things  to  revive  it.  Little  do  many 
think  what  is  the  savageness  and  brutishness  of  this  barbarous 
enemy,  those  even  that  seem  to  profess  more  than  others 
among  them,  when  the  English  have  fallen  into  their  hands. 

Those  seven  that  were  killed  at  Lancaster  the  summer  be 
fore  upon  a  Sabbath  day,  and  the  one  that  was  afterward  killed 
upon  a  week-day,  were  slain  and  mangled  in  a  barbarous  man 
ner,  by  One-eyed  John  and  Marlborough's  praying  Indians, 
which  Capt.  Mosely  brought  to  Boston,  as  the  Indians  told 
me. 

THE  SECOND  KEMOVE. — But  now  (the  next  morning)  I  must 
turn  my  back  upon  the  town,  and  travel  with  them  into  the 
vast  and  desolate  wilderness,  I  know  not  whither.  It  is  not 
my  tongue  or  pen  can  express  the  sorrows  of  my  heart,  and 
bitterness  of  my  spirit,  that  I  had  at  this  departure ;  but  God 
was  with  me  in  a  wonderful  manner,  carrying  me  along  and 
bearing  up  my  spirit,  that  it  did  not  quite  fail.  One  of  the 
Indians  carried  my  poor  wounded  babe  upon  a  horse  :  it  went 
moaning  all  along,  "  I  shall  die,  I  shall  die."  I  went  on  foot  after 
it  with  sorrow  that  cannot  be  expressed.  At  length  I  took  it  off 
the  horse,  and  carried  it  in  my  arms,  till  my  strength  failed  and 
I  fell  down  with  it.  Then  they  set  me  upon  a  horse  with  my 
wounded  child  in  my  lap,  and  there  being  no  furniture  on  the 
horse's  back,  as  we  were  going  down  a  steep  hill,  we  both  fell 

*  Mr.  Rowlandson,  with  Capt.  Kerley  and  Mr.  Drew,  were  at  this  time 
in  Boston,  soliciting  the  governor  and  council  for  more  soldiers,  for  the 
protection  of  the  place. 

f  No  less  than  seventeen  of  Mr.  Rowlandson's  family  were  put  to  death 
or  taken  prisoners. 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  25 

over  the  horse's  head,  at  which  they  like  inhuman  creatures 
laughed,  and  rejoiced  to  see  it,  though  I  thought  we  should 
there  have  "ended  our  days,  overcome  with  so  many  difficulties. 
But  the  Lord  renewed  my  strength  still,  and  carried  me  along, 
that  I  might  see  more  of  his  power,  yea,  so  much  that  I  could 
never  have  thought  of,  had  I  not  experienced  it. 

After  this  it  quickly  began  to  snow,  and  when  night  came 
on  they  stopt.  And  now  down  I  must  &it  in  the  snow,  by  a  lit 
tle  fire,  and  a  few  boughs  behind  rne,  with  my  sick  child  in  my 
lap,  and  calling  much  for  water,  being  now,  through  the  wound, 
fallen  into  a  violent  fever ;  my  own  wound  also  growing  so 
stiff,  that  I  could  scarce  sit  down  or  rise  up,  yet  so  it  must  be, 
that  I  must  sit  all  this  cold,  winter  night  upon  the  cold  snowy 
ground,  with  my  sick  child  in  my  arms,  looking  that  every 
hour  would  be  the  last  of  its  life,  and  having  no  Christian 
friend  near  me,  either  to  comfort  or  help  me.  Oh,  I  may  see 
the  wonderful  power  of  God,  that  my  spirit  did  not  utterly 
sink  under  my  affliction ;  still  the  Lord  upheld  me  with  his 
gracious  and  merciful  spirit,  and  we  were  both  alive  to  see  the 
light  of  the  next  morning. 

THE  THIRD  REMOVE. — The  morning  being  come,  they  pre 
pared  to  go  on  their  way;  one  of  the  Indians  got  upon  a  horse, 
and  they  sat  me  up  behind  him,  with  my  poor  sick  babe  in  my 
lap.  A  very  wearisome  and  tedious  day  1  had  of  it ;  what 
with  my  own  wound,  and  my  child  being  so  exceeding  sick, 
and  in  a  lamentable  condition  with  her  wound,  it  may  easily 
be  judged  what  a  poor,  feeble  condition  we  were  in,  there 
being  not  the  least  crumb  of  refreshing  that  came  within  either 
of  our  mouths  from  Wednesday  night  to  Saturday  night,  except 
only  a  little  cold  water.  This  day  in  the  afternoon,  about  an 
hour  by  sun,  we  carne  to  the  place  where  they  intended,  viz. 
an  Indian  town  called  Wenimesset,  [New  Braintree]  north-  ij 

ward  of  Quabaug,  [Brookneld.]  When  we  were  come,  Oh 
the  number  of  Pagans,  now  merciless  enemies,  that  there  came 
about  me,  that  I  may  say  as  David,  Psal.  27  :  13,  "  I  had  faint 
ed  unless  I  had  believed"  &c.  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath. 
I  then  remembered  how  careless  I  had  been  of  God's  holy 
time  ;  how  many  Sabbaths  I  had  lost  and  misspent,  and  how 
evilly  I  had  walked  in  God's  sight ;  which  lay  so  close  upon 
my  spirit,  that  it  was  easy  for  me  to  see  how  righteous  it  was  . 
with  God  to  cut  off  the  thread  of  my  life,  and  cast  me  out  of 
his  presence  'for  ever.  Yet  the  Lord  still  showed  mercy  to  me, 
and  helped  me ;  and  as  he  wounded  me  with  one  hand,  so  he 
healed  me  with  the  other.  This  day  there  came  to  me  one 
Robert  Pepper,  a  man  belonging  to  Roxbury,  who  was  taken 
at  Capt.  Beers'  fight,  and  had  been  now  a  considerable  time 


26  MRS.  EOWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

with  the  Indians,  and  up  with  them  almost  as  far  as  Albany, 
to  see  King  Philip,  as  he  told  me,  and  was  now  very  lately 
come  into  these  parts.  Hearing,  I  say,  that  I  was  in  this  In 
dian  town,  he  obtained  leave  to  come  and  see  me.  He  told  me 
he  himself  was  wounded  in  the  leg  at  Capt.  Beers'  fight,  and 
was  not  able  some  time  to  go,  but  as  they  carried  him,  and  that 
he  took  oak  leaves  and  laid  to  his  wound,  and  by  the  blessing 
of  God  he  was  able  to  travel  again.  Then  took  I  oak  leaves 
and  laid  to  my  side,  and  with  the  blessing  of  God  it  cured  me 
also ;  yet  before  the  cure  was  wrought,  I  may  say  as  it  is  in 
Psal.  38:  5,  6,  "  My  wounds  stink  and  are  corrupt.  I  am 
troubled  ;  I  am  bowed  down  greatly ;  I  go  mourning  all  the 
day  long."  I  sat  much  alone  with  my  poor  wounded  child  in 
my  lap,  which  moaned  night  and  day,  having  nothing  to  revive 
the  body  or  cheer  the  spirits  of  her ;  but  instead  of  that,  one 
[ndian  would  come  and  tell  me  one  hour,  "  Your  master  will 
knock  your  child  on  the  head,"  and  then  a  second,  and  then  a 
third,  "  Your  master  will  quickly  knock  your  child  on  the 
head." 

This  was  the  comfort  I  had  from  them;  miserable  comfort 
ers  were  they  all.  Thus  nine  days  I  sat  upon  my  knees,  with 
my  babe  in  my  lap,  till  my  flesh  was  raw  again.  My  child 
being  even  ready  to  depart  this  sorrowful  world,  they  bid  me 
carry  it  out  to  another  wigwam,  I  suppose  because  they  would 
not  be  troubled  with  such  spectacles  ;  whither  I  went  with  a 
very  heavy  heart,  and  down  I  sat  with  the  picture  of  death  in 
my  lap.  About  two  hours  in  the  night,  my  sweet  babe  like  a 
lamb  departed  this  life,  on  Feb.  18,  1676,  it  being  about  six 
years  and  five  months  old.^  It  was  nine  days  from  the  first 
wounding  in  this  miserable  condition,  without  any  refreshing 
of  one  nature  or  another  except  a  little  cold  water.  I  cannot 
but  take  notice  how  at  another  time  I  could  not  bear  to  be  in  a 
room  where  a  dead  person  was,  but  now  the  case  is  changed ; 
I  must  and  could  lie  down  with  my  dead  babe  all  the  night 
after,  I  have  thought  since  of  the  wonderful  goodness  of  God 
to  me  in  preserving  me  so  in  the  use  of  my  reason  and  senses, 
in  that  distressed  time,  that  I  did  not  use  wicked  and  violent 
means  to  end  my  own  miserable  life.  In  the  morning  when 
they  understood  that  my  child  was  dead,  they  sent  me  home 
to  my  master's  wigwam.  By  my  master  in  this  writing  must 
be  understood  Quannopin,  who  was  a  sagamore,  and  married 
King  Philip's  wife's  sister;  not  that  he  first  took  me,  but  I  was 
sold  to  him  by  a  Narraganset  Indian,  who  took  me  when  I  first 
came  out  of  the  garrison.  I  went  to  take  up  my  dead  child 

*  This  child's  name  was  Sarah ;  born  Sept.  15,  1669. 


MRS.  ROWLANPSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  27 

in  my  arms  to  carry  it  with  me,  but  they  bid  me  let  it  alone. 
There  was  no  resisting,  but  go  I  must,  and  leave  it.  When  I 
had  been  awhile  at  my  master's  wigwam,  I  took  the  first  op 
portunity  I  could  get  to  go  look  after  my  dead  child.  When 
I  came  I  asked  them  what  they  had  done  with  it.  They  told 
me  it  was  on  the  hill.^  Then  they  went  and  showed  me 
where  it  was,  where  I  saw  the  ground  was  newly  digged,  and 
where  they  told  me  they  had  buried  it.  There  I  left  that  child 
in  the  wilderness,  and  must  commit  it  and  myself  also  in  this 
wilderness  condition  to  Him  who  is  above  all.  God  having 
taken  away  this  dear  child,  I  went  to  see  my  daughter  Mary, 
who  was  at  the  same  Indian  town,  at  a  wigwam  not  very  far 
off,  though  we  had  little  liberty  or  opportunity  to  see  one 
another ;  she  was  about  ten  years  old,  and  taken  from  the  door 
at  first  by  a  praying  Indian,  and  afterwards  sold  for  a  gun. 
When  I  came  in  sight  she  would  fall  a  weeping,  at  which 
they  were  provoked,  and  would  not  let  me  come  near  her,  but 
bid  me  be  gone  ;  which  was  a  heart-cutting  word  to  me.  I 
had  one  child  dead,  another  in  the  wilderness,  I  knew  not 
where,  the  third  they  would  not  let  me  come  near  to ;  "  Me 
(as  he  said)  have  ye  bereaved  of  my  children ;  Joseph  is  not, 
and  Simeon  is  not,  and  ye  will  take  Benjamin  also  ;  all  these 
things  are  against  me."  I  could  not  sit  still  in  this  condition, . 
but  kept  walking  from  one  place  to  another ;  and  as  I  was 
going  along,  my  heart  was  even  overwhelmed  with  the  thoughts 
of  my  condition,  and  that  I  should  have  children,  and  a  nation 
that  1  knew  not  ruled  over  them.  Whereupon  I  earnestly 
entreated  the  Lord  that  he  would  consider  my  low  estate,  and 
show  me  a  token  for  good,  and  if  it  were  his  blessed  will,  some 
sign  and  hope  of  some  relief.  And  indeed  quickly  the  Lord 
answered  in  some  measure  my  poor  prayer  ;  for  as  I  was  going 
up  and  down  mourning  and  lamenting  my  condition,  my  son 
[Joseph]  came  to  me  and  asked  me  how  I  did.  I  had  not  seen 
him  before  since  the  destruction  of  the  town ;  and  I  knew  not 
where  he  was,  till  I  was  informed  by  himself  that  he  was 
among  a  smaller  parcel  of  Indians,  whose  place  was  about  six 
miles  off.  With  tears  in  his  eyes  he  asked  me  whether  his 
sister  Sarah  was  dead,  and  told  me  he  had  seen  his  sister  Mary, 
and  prayed  me  that  I  would  not  be  troubled  in  reference  to 
himself.  The  occasion  of  his  coming  to  see  me  at  this  time 
was  this  :  there  was,  as  I  said,  about  six  miles  from  us,  a  small 
plantation  of  Indians,  where  it  seems  he  had  been  during  his 
captivity ;  and  at  this  time  there  were  some  forces  of  the  In- 

*  This  hill,  in  the  town  of  New  Braintree,  is  now  known  as  the  burial 
place  of  Mrs.  Rowlandson's  child. 


28  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

dians  gathered  out  of  our  company,  and  some  also  from  them, 
amongst  whom  was  my  son's  master,  to  go  to  assault  and  burn 
Med field.  In  this  time  of  his  master's  absence  his  dame 
brought  him  to  see  me.  I  took  this  to  be  some  gracious  answer 
to  my  earnest  and  unfeigned  desire.  The  next  day  the  Indians 
returned  from  Medfield;^  all  the  company,  for  those  that 
belonged  to  the  other  smaller  company  came  through  the  town 
that  we  now  were  at ;  but  before  they  came  to  us,  Oh  the  out 
rageous  roaring  and  whooping  that  there  was  !  they  began 
their  din  about  a  mile  before  they  came  to  us.  By  their  noise 
and  whooping  they  signified  how  many  they  had  destroyed  ; 
which  was  at  that  time  twenty-three.  Those  that  were  with 
us  at  home  were  gathered  together  as  soon  as  they  heard  the 
whooping,  and  every  time  that  the  other  went  over  their  num 
ber,  these  at  home  gave  a  shout,  that  the  very  earth  rang  again. 
And  thus  they  continued  till  those  that  had  been  upon  the 
expedition  were  come  up  to  the  sagamore's  wigwam  ;  and  then 
Oh  the  hideous  insulting  and  triumphing  that  there  was  over 
some  Englishmen's  scalps  that  they  had  taken,  as  their  man 
ner  is,  and  brought  with  them.  I  cannot  but  take  notice  of  the 
wonderful  mercy  of  God  to  me  in  those  afflictions,  in  sending 
me  a  Bible.  One  of  the  Indians  that  came  from  Med  field  fight, 
and  had  brought  some  plunder,  came  to  me,  and  asked  me  if  I 
would  have  a  Bible  ;  he  had  got  one  in  his  basket.  I  was  glad 
of  it,  and  asked  him  if  he  thought  the  Indians  would  let  me 
read.  He  answered  yes.  So  I  took  the  Bible,  and  in  that 
melancholy  time  it  came  into  my  mind  to  read  first  the  twenty- 
eighth  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  which  I  did,  arid  when  I  had 
read  it  my  dark  heart  wrought  on  this  manner :  that  there  was 
no  mercy  for  me,  that  the  blessings  were  gone,  and  the  curses 
came  in  their  room,  and  that  I  had  lost  my  opportunity.  But 
the  Lord  helped  me  still  to  go  on  reading,  till  I  came  to  chap. 
30,  the  seven  first  verses  ;  where  I  found  there  was  mercy 
promised  again,  if  we  would  return  to  him  by  repentance;  and 
though  we  were  scattered  from  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the 
other,  yet  the  Lord  would  gather  us  together,  and  turn  all  those 
curses  upon  our  enemies.  I  do  not  desire  to  live  to  forget  this 
scripture,  and  what  comfort  it  was  to  me. 

Now  the  Indians  began  to  talk  of  removing  from  this  place, 
some  one  way  and  some  another.  There  were  now  besides 
myself  nine  English  captives  in  this  place,  all  of  them  children 
except  one  woman.  I  got  an  opportunity  to  go  and  take  my 
leave  of  them,  they  being  to  go  one  way  and  I  another.  I 
isked  them  whether  they  were  earnest  with  God  for  deliver- 

*  Medfield  was  attacked  Feb.  21,  CO.  S.) 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  29 

ance.  They  told  me  they  did  as  they  were  able,  and  it  was 
some  comfort  to  me  that  the  Lord  stirred  up  children  to  look  tc 
him.  The  woman,  viz.  goodvvife  Joslin.^  told  me  she  should 
never  see  me  again,  and  that  she  could  find  in  her  heart  to  run 
away  by  any  means,  for  we  were  near  thirty  miles  from  any 
English  town,t  and  she  very  big  with  child,  having  but  one  week 
to  reckon,  and  another  child  in  her  arms  two  years  old  ;  and 
bad  rivers  there  were  to  go  over,  and  we  were  feeble  with  our 
poor  and  coarse  entertainment.  I  had  my  Bible  with  me.  I 
pulled  it  out,  and  asked  her  whether  she  would  read.  We 
oponed  the  Bible,  and  lighted  on  Psalm  27,  in  which  Psalm 
we  especially  took  notice  of  that  verse,  "  Wait  on  the  Lord,  be 
of  good  courage^  and  he  shall  strengthen  thine  heart ;  wait  I 
say  on  the  Lord" 

THE  FOURTH  REMOVE. — And  now  must  I  part  with  the  little 
company  I  had.  Here  I  parted  with  my  daughter  Mary,t 
whom  I  never  saw  again  till  I  saw  her  in  Dorchester,  returned 
from  captivity,  and  from  four  little  cousins  and  neighbors,  some 
of  which  I  never  saw  afterward ;  the  Lord  only  knows  the  end 
of  them.  Among  them  also  was  that  poor  woman  before  men 
tioned,  who  came  to  a  sad  end,  as  some  of  the  company  told 
me  in  my  travel.  She  having  much  grief  upon  her  spirits 
about  her  miserable  condition,  being  so  near  her  time,  she 
would  be  often  asking  the  Indians  to  let  her  go  home.  They 
not  being  willing  to  that,  and  yet  vexed  with  her  importunity, 
gathered  a  great  company  together  about  her,  and  stript  her 
naked  and  set  her  in  the  midst  of  them ;  and  when  they  had 
sung  and  danced  about  her  in  their  hellish  manner  as  long  as 
they  pleased,  they  knocked  her  on  the  head,  and  the  child  in 
her  arms  with  her.  When  they  had  done  that,  they  made  a 
fire  and  put  them  both  into  it,  and  told  the  other  children  that 
were  with  them,  that  if  they  attempted  to  go  home  they  would 
serve  them  in  like  manner.  The  children  said  she  did  not 
shed  one  tear,  but  prayed  all  the  while.  Bat  to  turn  to  my 
own  journey.  We  travelled  about  a  half  a  day  or  a  little  more, 
and  came  to  a  desolate  place  in  the  wilderness,  where  there 
were  no  wigwams  or  inhabitants  before.  We  came  about  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon  to  this  place,  cold,  wet,  and  snowy,  and 
hungry,  and  weary,  and  no  refreshing  for  man,  but  the  cold 
ground  to  sit  on,  and  our  poor  Indian  cheer. 

*  Abraham  Joslin's  wife. 

f  This  was  true  at  that  time,  as  Brookfield,  (Quaboag,)  within  a  fevr 
miles  of  Wenimesset,  was  destroyed  by  the  Indians  in  August,  1675, 
The  nearest  towns  were  those  on  Connecticut  river. 

JBorn  August  12,  1665. 


30  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

Heart-aching-  thoughts  here  I  had  about  my  poor  children, 
who  were  scattered  up  and  down  among  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
forest.  My  head  was  light  and  dizzy,  either  through  hunger 
or  bad  lodging,  or  trouble,  or  all  together,  my  knees  feeble,  my 
body  raw  by  sitting  double  night  and  day,  that  I  cannot  ex 
press  to  man  the  affliction  that  lay  upon  my  spirit,  but  the 
Lord  helped  me  at  that  time  to  express  it  to  himself.  I  open 
ed  my  Bible  to  read,  and  the  Lord  brought  that  precious  scrip 
ture  to  me,  Jer.  31  :  16, — "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  refrain  thy 
voice  from  weeping,  and  thine  eyes  from  tears,  for  thy  work 
shall  be  rewarded,  and  they  shall  come  again  from  the  land  of 
the  enemy."  This  was  a  sweet  cordial  to  me  when  I  was  ready 
to  faint.  Many  and  many  a  time  have  I  sat  down  and  wept 
sweetly  over  this  scripture.  At  this  place  we  continued  about 
four  days. 

THE  FIFTH  REMOVE. — The  occasion,  as  I  thought,  of  their 
removing  at  this  time,  was  the  English  army's  being  near  and 
following  them ;  for  they  went  as  if  they  had  gone  for  their 
lives  for  some  considerable  way ;  and  then  they  made  a  stop, 
and  chose  out  some  of  their  stoutest  men,  and  sent  them  back 
to  hold  the  English  army  in  play  whilst  the  rest  escaped ;  and 
then,  like  Jehu,  they  marched  on  furiously,  with  their  old  and 
young :  some  carried  their  old,  decrepit  mothers,  some  carried 
one,  and  some  another.  Four  of  them  carried  a  great  Indian 
upon  a  bier;  but  going  through  a  thick  wood  with  him,  they 
were  hindered,  and  could  make  no  haste ;  whereupon  they  took 
him  upon  their  backs,  and  carried  him  one  at  a  time,  till  we 
came  to  Bacquag*  river.  Upon  Friday,  a  little  after  noon,  we 
came  to  this  river.  When  all  the  company  was  come  up  and 
were  gathered  together,  I  thought  to  count  the  number  of  them, 
but  they  were  so  many,  and  being  somewhat  in  motion,  it  was 
beyond  my  skill.  In  this  travel,  because  of  my  wound,  I  was 
somewhat  favored  in  my  load.  I  carried  only  my  knitting- 
work,  and  two  quarts  of  parched  meal.  Being  very  faint,  I 
asked  my  mistress  to  give  me  one  spoonful  of  the  meal,  but 
she  would  not  give  me  a  taste.  They  quickly  fell  to  cutting 
dry  trees,  to  make  rafts  to  carry  them  over  the  river,  and  soon 
my  turn  came  to  go  over.  By  the  advantage  of  some  brush 
which  they  had  laid  upon  the  raft  to  sit  on,  I  did  not  wet  my 
foot,  while  many  of  themselves  at  the  other  end  were  mid-leg 
deep,  which  cannot  but  be  acknowledged  as  a  favor  of  God  to 
my  weakened  body,  it  being  a  very  cold  time.  I  was  not  be 
fore  acquainted  with  such  kind  of  doings  or  dangers.  "  When 

*  Or  Payquage.  now  Miller's  river.  It  empties  into  the  Connecticut, 
between  Northfieid  and  Montague. 


MUS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  31 

thou  passeth  through  the  waters  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through 
the  rivers  they  shall  not  overflow  thee." — Isa.  43  :  2.  A  certain 
number  of  us  got  over  the  river  that  night,  but  it  was  the  night 
after  the  Sabbath  before  all  the  company  was  got  over.  On 
the  Saturday  they  boiled  an  old  horse's  leg  which  they  had 
got,  and  so  we  drank  of  the  broth,  as  soon  as  they  thought  it 
was  ready,  and  when  it  was  almost  all  gone  they  filled  it  up 
again. 

The  first  week  of  my  being  among  them,  I  hardly  eat  any 
thing ;  the  second  week  I  found  my  stomach  grow  very  faint 
for  want  of  something,  and  yet  it  was  very  hard  to  get  down 
their  filthy  trash ;  but  the  third  week,  though  I  could  think  how 
formerly  my  stomach  would  turn  against  this  or  that,  and  I 
could  starve  and  die  before  I  could  eat  such  things,  yet  they 
were  pleasant  and  savory  to  my  taste.  I  was  at  this  time  knit 
ting  a  pair  of  white  cotton  stockings  for  my  mistress,  and  I  had 
not  yet  wrought  upon  the  Sabbath  day.  When  the  Sabbath 
carne,  they  bid  me  go  to  work.  I  told  them  it  was  Sabbath 
day,  and  desired  them  to  let  me  rest,  and  told  them  I  would  do 
as  much  more  work  to-morrow  ;  to  which  they  answered  me 
they  would  break  my  face.  And  here  I  cannot  but  take  notice 
of  the  strange  providence  of  God  in  preserving  the  heathen. 
They  were  many  hundreds,  old  and  young,  some  sick,  and 
some  lame ;  many  had  papooses  at  their  backs ;  the  greatest 
number  at  this  time  with  us  were  squaws ;  and  yet  they  tra 
velled  with  all  they  had,  bag  and  baggage,  and  they  got  over 
this  river  aforesaid ;  and  on  Monday  they  sat  their  wigwams 
on  fire,  and  away  they  went.  On  that  very  day  came  the 
English  army  after  them  to  this  river,  and  saw  the  smoke  of 
their  wigwams,  and  yet  this  river  put  a  stop  to  them.  God  did 
not  give  them  courage  or  activity  to  go  over  after  us.  We 
were  not  ready  for  so  great  a  mercy  as  victory  and  deliverance ; 
if  we  had  been,  God  would  have  found  out  a  way  for  the 
English  to  have  passed  this  river,  as  well  as  for  the  Indians, 
with  their  squaws  and  children,  and  all  their  luggage.  "  O 
that  my  people  had  hearkened  unto  me,  and  Israel  had  walked 
in  my  ways ;  I  should  soon  have  subdued  their  enemies,  and 
turned  my  hand  against  their  adversaries" — Psal.  81 :  13,  14. 

THE  SIXTH  REMOVE. — On  Monday,  as  I  said,  they  set  their 
wigwams  on  fire,  and  went  away.  It  was  a  cold  morning,  and 
before  us  there  was  a  great  brook  with  ice  on  it.  Some  waded 
through  it  up  to  the  knees  and  higher,  but  others  went  till  they 
came  to  a  beaver  dam,  and  I  amongst  them,  where,  through 
the  good  providence  of  God,  I  did  not  wet  my  foot.  I  went 
along  that  day  mourning  and  lamenting,  leaving  farther  my 
own  country,  and  travelling  farther  into  the  vast  and  howling 


32  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

wilderness,  and  I  understood  something  of  Lot's  wife's  temp 
tation  when  she  looked  back.  We  came  that  day  to  a  great 
swamp,  by  the  side  of  which  we  took  up  our  lodging  that 
night.  When  we  came  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  that  looked  to 
ward  the  swamp,  I  thought  we  had  been  come  to  a  great  Indian 
town,  though  there  were  none  but  our  own  company;  the  In 
dians  were  as  thick  as  the  trees ;  it  seemed  as  if  there  had 
been  a  thousand  hatchets  going  at  once.  If  one  looked  before 
one  there  was  nothing  but  Indians,  and  behind  one  nothing  but 
Indians ;  and  so  on  either  hand ;  and  I  myself  in  the  midst, 
and  no  Christian  soul  near  me,  and  yet  how  hath  the  Lord 
preserved  me  in  safety !  Oh  the  experience  that  I  have  had 
of  the  goodness  of  God  to  me  and  mine ! 

THE  SEVENTH  REMOVE. — After  a  restless  and  hungry  night 
there,  we  had  a  wearisome  time  of  it  the  next  day."  The 
swamp  by  which  we  lay  was  as  it  were  a  deep  dungeon,  and 
an  exceeding  high  and  steep  hill  before  it.  Before  I  got  to  the 
top  of  the  hill,  I  thought  my  heart  and  legs  and  all  would  have 
broken  and  failed  me.  What  through  faintness  and  soreness  of 
body,  it  was  a  grievous  day  of  travel  to  me.  As  we  went  along,  I 
saw  a  place  where  English  cattle  had  been.  That  was  a  com 
fort  to  me,  such  as  it  was.  Quickly  after  that  we  came  to 
an  English  path,  which  so  took  me  that  I  thought  I  could  there 
have  freely  lain  down  and  died.  That  day,  a  little  after  noon, 
we  came  to  Squaheag,^  where  the  Indians  quickly  spread 
themselves  over  the  deserted  English  fields,  gleaning  what  they 
could  find.  Some  picked  up  ears  of  wheat  that  were  crickled 
down,  some  found  ears  of  Indian  corn,  some  found  ground 
nuts,  and  others  sheaves  of  wheat  that  were  frozen  together  in 
the  shock,  and  went  to  threshing  of  them  out.  Myself  got  two 
ears  of  Indian  corn,  and  whilst  I  did  but  turn  my  back,  one  of 
them  was  stole  from  me,  which  much  troubled  me.  There 
came  an  Indian  to  them  at  that  time,  with  a  basket  of  horse- 
liver.  I  asked  him  to  give  me  a  piece.  "  What,"  says  he, 
"  can  you  eat  horse-liver  ?"  I  told  him  I  would  try,  if  he  would 
give  me  a  piece,  which  he  did  ;  and  I  laid  it  on  the  coals  to 
roast;  but  before  it  was  half  ready,  they  got  half  of  it  away 
from  me ;  so  that  I  was  forced  to  take  the  rest  and  eat  it  as  it 
was,  with  the  blood  about  my  mouth,  and  yet  a  savory  bit  it 
was  to  me  ;  for  to  the  hungry  soul  every  bitter  thing  was  sweet. 
A  solemn  sight  methought  it  was,  to  see  whole  fields  of  wheat 
and  Indian  corn  forsaken  and  spoiled,  and  the  remainder  of 
them  to  be  food  for  our  merciless  enemies.  That  night  we 
had  a  mess  of  wheat  for  our  supper. 

*  Or  Sqnakeag,  now  Northfield. 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  33 

THE  EIGHTH  REMOVE. — On  the  morrow  morning  we  must 
go  over  Connecticut  river,  to  meet  with  King  Philip.  Two 
canoes  full  they  had  carried  over ;  the  next  turn  myself  was 
to  go ;  but  as  my  foot  was  upon  the  canoe  to  step  in,  there  was 
a  sudden  outcry  among  them,  and  I  must  step  back ;  and 
instead  of  going  over  the  river,  I  must  go  four  or  five  miles  up 
the  river  farther  northward.  Some  of  the  Indians  ran  one  way, 
and  some  another.  The  cause  of  this  rout  was,  as  I  thought, 
their  espying  some  English  scouts,  who  were  thereabouts.  In 
this  travel  up  the  river,  about  noon  the  company  made  a  stop, 
and  sat  down,  some  to  eat  and  others  to  rest  them.  As  I  sat 
amongst  them,  musing  on  things  past,  my  son  Joseph  unex 
pectedly  came  to  me.  We  asked  of  each  other's  welfare,  be 
moaning  our  doleful  condition,  and  the  change  that  had  come 
upon  us.  We  had  husband  and  father,  and  children  and  sis 
ters,  and  friends  and  relations,  and  house  and  home,  and  many 
comforts  of  this  life ;  but  now  we  might  say  as  Job,  "  Naked 
came  I  out  of  my  mother's  ivomb,  and  naked  shall  I  return. 
The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ;  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord."  I  asked  him  whether  he  would  read.  He 
told  me  he  earnestly  desired  it.  I  gave  him  my  Bible,  and  he 
lighted  upon  that  comfortable  scripture,  Psalm  118:  17,  18, — 
"I  shall  not  die,  but  live,  and  declare  the  works  of  the  Lord. 
The  Lord  hath  chastened  me  sore,  yet  he  hath  not  given  me  over  to 
death."  "  Look  here,  mother,"  says  he,  "  did  you  read  this  ?" 
And  here  I  may  take  occasion  to  mention  one  principal  ground 
of  my  setting  forth  these  lines,  even  as  the  Psalmist  says,  to 
declare  the  v/orks  of  the  Lord,  and  his  wonderful  power  in 
carrying  us  along,  preserving  us  in  the  wilderness  while  under 
the  enemy's  hand,  and  returning  of  us  in  safety  again ;  and 
his  goodness  in  bringing  to  my  hand  so  many  comfortable  and 
suitable  scriptures  in  my  distress. 

But  to  return.  We  travelled  on  till  night,  and  in  the  morn 
ing  we  must  go  over  the  river  to  Philip's  crew.  When  I  was 
in  the  canoe,  I  could  not  but  be  amazed  at  the  numerous  crew 
of  Pagans  that  were  on  the  bank  on  the  other  side.  When  1 
came  ashore,  they  gathered  all  about  me,  I  sitting  alone  in  the 
midst.  I  observed  they  asked  one  another  questions,  and 
laughed,  and  rejoiced  over  their  gains  and  victories.  Then 
my  heart  began  to  fail,  and  I  fell  a  weeping;  which  was  the 
first  time,  to  my  remembrance,  that  I  wept  before  them.  Al 
though  I  had  met  with  so  much  affliction,  and  my  heart  was 
many  times  ready  to  break,  yet  could  I  not  shed  one  tear  in 
their  sight,  but  rather  had  been  all  this  while  in  a  maze,  and 
like  one  astonished;  but  new  I  may  say  as  Psal.  137:  1, — 
"  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea,  we  wept, 


34  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

when  we  remembered  Zion"  There  one  of  them  asked  me 
why  I  wept.  I  could  hardly  tell  what  to  say ;  yet  I  answered, 
they  would  kill  me.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  none  will  hurt  you." 
Then  came  one  of  them,  and  gave  me  two  spoonfuls  of  meal, 
to  comfort  me,  and  another  gave  me  half  a  pint  of  peas,  which 
was  worth  more  than  many  bushels  at  another  time.  Then  I 
went  to  see  King  Philip.  He  bade  me  come  in  and  sit  down, 
and  asked  me  whether  I  would  smoke  it — a  usual  compliment 
now-a-days  among  the  saints  and  sinners ;  but  this  noway 
suited  me ;  for  though  I  had  formerly  used  tobacco,  yet  I  had 
left  it  ever  since  I  was  first  taken.  It  seems  to  be  a  bait  the 
devil  lays  to  make  men  lose  their  precious  time.  I  remember 
with  shame  how  formerly,  when  I  had  taken  two  or  three 
pipes,  I  was  presently  ready  for  another,  such  a  bewitching 
thing  it  is ;  but  I  thank  God,  he  has  now  given  me  power  over 
it.  Surely  there  are  many  who  may  be  better  employed  than 
to  sit  sucking  a  stinking  tobacco-pipe. 

Now  the  Indians  gathered  their  forces  to  go  against  North 
ampton.  Over  night  one  went  about  yelling  and  hooting  to 
give  notice  of  the  design.  Whereupon  they  went  to  boiling 
of  ground-nuts  and  parching  corn,  as  many  as  had  it,  for  their 
provision ;  and  in  the  morning  away  they  went.  During  my 
abode  in  this  place,  Philip  spake  to  me  to  make  a  shirt  for  his 
boy,  which  I  did;  for  which  he  gave  me  a  shilling.  I  offered 
the  money  to  my  mistress,  but  she  bid  me  keep  it,  and  with  it 
I  bought  a  piece  of  horse-flesh.  Afterward  he  asked  me  to 
make  a  cap  for  his  boy,  for  which  he  invited  me  to  dinner.  I 
.vent,  and  he  gave  me  a  pancake  about  as  big  as  two  fin 
gers  ;  it  was  made  of  parched  wheat,  beaten  and  fried  in 
bear's  grease,  but  I  thought  I  never  tasted  pleasanter  meat  in 
my  life.  There  was  a  squaw  who  spake  to  me  to  make  a  shirt 
for  her  Sannup  ;  for  which  she  gave  me  a  piece  of  beef.  An 
other  asked  me  to  knit  a  pair  of  stockings,  for  which  she  gave 
me  a  quart  of  peas.  I  boiled  my  peas  and  beef  together,  and 
invited  my  master  and  mistress  to  dinner ;  but  the  proud  gos 
sip,  because  I  served  them  both  in  one  dish,  would  eat  nothing, 
except  one  bit  that  he  gave  her  upon  the  point  of  his  knife. 
Hearing  that  my  son  was  come  to  this  place,  I  went  to  see  him, 
and  found  him  lying  flat  on  the  ground.  I  asked  him  how  he 
could  sleep  so.  He  answered  me  that  he  was  not  asleep,  but 
at  prayer,  and  that  he  lay  so  that  they  might  not  observe  what 
he  was  doing.  I  pray  God  he  may  remember  these  things 
now  he  is  returned  in  safety.  At  this  place,  the  sun  now  get 
ting  higher,  what  with  the  beams  and  heat  of  the  sun  and 
smoke  of  the  wigwams,  I  thought  I  should  have  been  blinded. 
I  could  scarce  discern  one  wigwam  from  another.  There  was 


MRS.  KOWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  35 

one  Mary  Thurston,  of  Medfield,  who,  seeing  how  it  was  with 
me,  lent  me  a  hat  to  wear ;  but  as  soon  as  I  was  gone,  the 
squaw  that  owned  that  Mary  Thurston  came  running  after  me, 
and  got  it  away  again.  Here  was  a  squaw  who  gave  me  a 
spoonful  of  meal ;  I  put  it  in  my  pocket  to  keep  it  safe,  yet 
notwithstanding  somebody  stole  it,  but  put  five  Indian  corns  in 
the  room  of  it ;  which  corns  were  the  greatest  provision  1  had 
in  my  travel  for  one  day. 

The  Indians  returning  from  Northampton  #  brought  with 
them  some  horses,  and  sheep,  and  other  things  which  they  had 
taken.  I  desired  them  that  they  would  carry  me  to  Albany 
upon  one  of  those  horses,  and  sell  me  for  powder  ;  for  so  they 
had  sometimes  discoursed.  I  was  utterly  helpless  of  getting 
home  on  foot,  the  way  that  I  came.  I  could  hardly  bear  to 
think  of  the  many  weary  steps  I  had  taken  to  this  place. 

THE  NINTH  REMOVE. — But  instead  of  either  going  to  Al 
bany  or  homeward,  we  must  go  five  miles  up  the  river,  and  then 
go  over  it.  Here  we  abode  a  while.  Here  lived  a  sorry  Indian, 
who  spake  to  me  to  make  him  a  shirt ;  when  I  had  done  it  he 
would  pay  me  nothing  for  it.  But  he  living  by  the  river-side, 
where  I  often  went  to  fetch  water,  I  would  often  be  putting  him 
in  mind,  and  calling  for  my  pay;  at  last  he  told  me,  if  I  would 
make  another  shirt  for  a  papoose  not  yet  born,  he  would  give 
me  a  knife,  which  he  did  when  I  had  done  it.  I  carried  the 
knife  in,  and  my  master  asked  me  to  give  it  him,  and  I  was  not 
a  little  glad  that  I  had  anything  that  they  would  accept  of  and 
be  pleased  with.  When  we  were  at  this  place,  my  master's 
maid  came  home :  she  had  been  gone  three  weeks  into  the 
Narragansett  country  to  fetch  corn,  where  they  had  stored  up 
some  in  the  ground.  She  brought  home  about  a  peck  and  a 
half  of  corn.  This  was  about  the  time  that  their  great  captain, 
Naonantojt  was  killed  in  the  Narragansett  country. 

My  son  being  now  about  a  mile  from  me,  I  asked  liberty  to 
go  and  see  him.  They  bid  me  go,  and  away  I  went ;  but  quick 
ly  lost  myself,  travelling  over  hills  and  through  swamps,  and 
could  not  find  the  way  to  him.  And  I  cannot  but  admire  at  the 
wonderful  power  and  goodness  of  God  to  me,  in  that  though  1 
was  gone  from  home  and  met  with  all  sorts  of  Indians,  and  those 
I  had  no  knowledge  of,  and  there  being  no  Christian  soul  near 
me,  yet  not  one  of  them  offered  the  least  imaginable  miscarriage 
to  me.  I  turned  homeward  again,  and  met  with  my  master,  and 
he  showed  me  the  way  to  my  son.  When  I  came  to  him,  I  found 
him  not  well ;  and  withal  he  had  a  boil  on  his  side  which  much 

*  Northampton  was  attacked  March  14,  1676. 

f  Nanuntennoo.  He  was  taken  April  6th,  1676.  See  Book  of  the  La 
dians,  Book  iii.  49,  50.— Ed. 


36  MRS.  KOWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

troubled  him.  "We  bemoaned  one  another  a  while,  as  the  Lord 
helped  us,  and  then  I  returned  again.  When  I  was  returned, 
I  found  myself  as  unsatisfied  as  I  was  before.  I  went  up  and 
down  mourning  and  lamenting,  and  my  spirit  was  ready  to  sink 
with  the  thoughts  of  my  poor  children.  My  son  was  ill,  and  I 
could  not  but  think  of  his  mournful  looks,  having  no  Christian 
friend  near  him,  to  do  any  office  of  love  to  him,  either  for  soul  or 
body.  And  my  poor  girl,  I  knew  not  where  she  was,  nor 
whether  she  was  sick  or  well,  alive  or  dead.  I  repaired  under 
these  thoughts  to  my  Bible,  (my  great  comforter  in  that  time,) 
and  that  scripture  came  to  my  hand,  "  Cast  thy  burden  upon 
the  Lord,  and  he  shall  sustain  thee." — Psal.  55 :  22. 

But  I  was  fain  to  go  look  after  something  to  satisfy  my 
hunger ;  and  going  among  the  wigwams,  I  went  into  one,  and 
there  found  a  squaw  who  showed  herself  very  kind  to  me,  and 
gave  me  a  piece  of  bear.  I  put  it  into  my  pocket  and  came 
home ;  but  could  not  find  an  opportunity  to  broil  it,  for  fear 
they  should  get  it  from  me.  And  there  it  lay  all  the  day  and 
night  in  my  stinking  pocket.  In  the  morning,  I  went  again  to 
the  same  squaw,  who  had  a  kettle  of  ground-nuts  boiling.  I 
asked  her  to  let  me  boil  my  piece  of  bear  in  the  kettle,  which 
she  did,  and  gave  me  some  ground-nuts  to  eat  with  it ;  and  I 
cannot  but  think  how  pleasant  it  was  to  rne.  I  have  sometimes 
seen  bear  baked  handsomely  amongst  the  English,  and  some 
liked  it,  but  the  thoughts  that  it  was  bear  made  me  tremble. 
But  now,  that  was  savory  to  me  that  one  would  think  was 
enough  to  turn  the  stomach  of  a  brute  creature. 

One  bitter  cold  day,  I  could  find  no  room  to  sit  down  before 
the  fire.  I  went  out,  and  could  not  tell  what  to  do,  but  I  went 
into  another  wigwam,  where  they  were  also  sitting  round  the 
fire  ;  but  the  squaw  laid  a  skin  for  me,  and  bid  me  sit  down, 
and  gave  me  some  ground-nuts,  and  bid  me  come  again,  and 
told  me  they  would  buy  me  if  they  were  able.  And  yet  these 
were  strangers  to  me  that  I  never  knew  before. 

THE  TENTH  REMOVE. — That  day  a  small  part  of  the  com 
pany  removed  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  intending  farther 
the  next  day.  When  they  came  to  the  place  they  intended  to 
lodge,  and  had  pitched  their  wigwams,  being  hungry,  I  went 
again  back  to  the  place  we  were  before  at,  to  get  something  to 
eat ;  being  encouraged  by  the  squaw's  kindness,  who  bid  me 
come  again.  When  I  was  there,  there  came  an  Indian  to  look 
after  me  ;  who,  when  he  had  found  me,  kicked  me  all  along. 
I  went  home  arid  found  venison  roasting  that  night,  but  they 
would  not  give  me  one  bit  of  it.  Sometimes  I  met  with  favor, 
and  sometimes  with  nothing  but  frowns. 

THE  ELEVENTH  REMOVE. — The  next  day  in  the  morning, 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  37 

they  took  their  travel,  intending  a  day's  journey  up  the  river ; 
I  took  my  load  at  my  back,  and  quickly  we  came  to  wade  over 
a  river,  and  passed  over  tiresome  and  wearisome  hills.  One 
hill  was  so  steep,  that  I  was  fain  to  creep  up  upon  my  knees, 
and  to  hold  by  the  twigs  and  bushes  to  keep  myself  from  falling 
backward.  My  head  also  was  so  light  that  I  usually  reeled  as 
I  went.  But  I  hope  all  those  wearisome  steps  that  I  have 
taken  are  but  a  forwarding  of  me  to  the  heavenly  rest.  "  / 
knoiv,  O  Lord,  that  thy  judgments  are  right,  and  that  thou  in 
faithfulness  hath  afflicted  me" — Psalm  119  :  75. 

THE  TWELFTH  REMOVE. — It  was  upon  a  Sabbath-day  morn 
ing  that  they  prepared  for  their  travel.  This  morning  I  asked 
my  master  whether  he  would  sell  me  to  my  husband  ;  he  an 
swered,  nux  ;  which  did  much  rejoice  my  spirits.  My  mistress, 
before  we  went,  was  gone  to  the  burial  of  a  papoos,  and  return 
ing,  she  found  me  sitting  and  reading  in  my  Bible.  She 
snatched  it  hastily  out  of  my  hand  and  threw  it  out  of  doors. 
I  ran  out  and  caught  it  up,  and  put  it  in  my  pocket,  aiid  never 
let  her  see  it  afterwards.  Then  they  packed  up  their  things 
to  be  'gone,  and  gave  me  my  load;  I  complained  it  was  too 
heavy,  whereupon  she  gave  me  a  slap  on  the  face  and  bid  me 
be  gone.  I  lifted  up  my  heart  to  God,  hoping  that  redemption 
was  not  far  off;  and  the  rather  because  their  insolence  grew 
worse  and  worse. 

But  thoughts  of  my  going  homeward,  for  so  we  bent  our 
course,  much  cheered  my  spirit,  and  made  my  burden  seem 
light,  and  almost  nothing  at  all.  But,  to  my  amazement  and 
great  perplexity,  the  scale  was  soon  turned ;  for  when  we  had 
got  a  little  way,  on  a  sudden  my  mistress  gave  out  she  would 
go  no  further,  but  turn  back  again,  and  said  I  must  go  back 
again  with  her ;  and  she  called  her  sannup,  and  would  have  had 
him  go  back  also,  but  he  would  not,  but  said  he  would  go  on, 
and  come  to  us  again  in  three  days.  My  spirit  was  upon  this, 
I  confess,  very  impatient,  and  almost  outrageous.  I  thought  I 
could  as  well  have  died  as  went  back.  I  cannot  declare  the 
trouble  that  I  was  in  about  it ;  back  again  I  must  go.  As  soon 
as  I  had  an  opportunity,  I  took  my  Bible  to  read,  and  that  qui 
eting  scripture  came  to  my  hand,  Psalm  46  :  10, — "  Be  still, 
and  knmo  that  I  am  God;"  which  stilled  my  spirit  for  the 
present;  but  a  sore  time  of  trial  I  concluded  I  had  to  go  through; 
my  master  being  gone,  who  seemed  to  me  the  best  friend  I  had 
of  an  Indian,  both  in  cold  and  hunger,  and  quickly  so  it  proved. 
Down  I  sat,  with  my  heart  as  full  as  it  could  hold,  and  yet  so 
hungry  that  I  could  not  sit  neither.  But  going  out  to  see  what 
I  could  find,  and  walking  among  the  trees,  I  found  six  acorns 
and  two  chesnuts,  which  were  some  refreshment  to  me.  To- 
4 


38  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

wards  night  I  gathered  me  some  sticks  for  my  own  comfort, 
that  I  might  not  lie  cold;  but  when  we  came  to  lie  down,  they 
bid  me  go  out  and  lie  somewhere  else,  for  they  had  company, 
they  said  come  in  more  than  their  own.  I  told  them  I  could 
not  tell  where  to  go ;  they  bid  me  go  look ;  I  told  them  if  I 
went  to  another  wigwam  they  would  be  angry  and  send  me 
home  again.  Then  one  of  the  company  drew  his  sword  and 
told  me  he  would  run  me  through  if  I  did  not  go  presently. 
Then  was  I  fain  to  stoop  to  this  rude  fellow,  and  go  out  in  the 
night  I  knew  not  whither.  Mine  eyes  hath  seen  that  fellow 
afterwards  walking  up  and  down  in  Boston,  under  the  appear 
ance  of  a  friendly  Indian,  and  several  others  of  the  like  cut.  I 
went  to  one  wigwam,  and  they  told  me  they  had  no  room. 
Then  I  went  to  another,  and  they  said  the  same.  At  last,  an 
old  Indian  bid  me  come  to  him,  and  his  squaw  gave  rne  some 
ground-nuts;  she  gave  me  also  something  to  lay  under  my 
head,  and  a  good  fire  we  had ;  through  the  good  providence 
of  God,  I  had  a  comfortable  lodging  that  night.  In  the  morn 
ing,  another  Indian  bid  me  come  at  night  and  he  would  give 
me  six  ground-nuts,  which  I  did.  We  were  at  this  place  and 
time  about  two  miles  from  Connecticut  river.  We  went  in  the 
morning,  to  gather  ground-nuts,  to  the  river,  and  went  back 
again  at  night.  I  went  with  a  great  load  at  my  back,  for  they 
when  they  went,  though  but  a  little  way,  would  carry  all  their 
trumpery  with  them.  I  told  them  the  skin  was  off  my  back, 
but  I  had  no  other  comforting  answer  from  them  than  this,  that 
it  would  be  no  matter  if  my  head  was  off  too. 

THE  THIRTEENTH  REMOVE. — Instead  of  going  towards  the 
bay,  which  was  what  I  desired,  I  must  go  with  them  five  or 
six  miles  down  the  river,  into  a  mighty  thicket  of  brush  ;  where 
we  abode  almost  a  fortnight.  Here  one  asked  me  to  make  a 
Jiirt  for  her  papoos,  for  which  she  gave  me  a  mess  of  broth, 
which  was  thickened  with  meal  made  of  the  bark  of  a  tree ; 
and  to  make  it  better  she  had  put  into  it  about  a  handful  of 
peas,  and  a  few  roasted  ground-nuts.  I  had  not  seen  my  son 
a  pretty  while,  and  here  was  an  Indian  of  whom  I  made  enqui 
ry  after  him,  and  asked  him  when  he  saw  him.  He  answered 
me,  ihat  such  a  time  his  master  roasted  him,  and  that  himself 
did  eat  a  piece  of  him  as  big  as  his  two  fingers,  and  that  he 
was  very  good  meat.  But  the  Lord  upheld  my  spirit  under 
this  discouragement ;  and  I  considered  their  horrible  addicted- 
ness  to  lying,  and  that  there  is  not  one  of  them  that  makes  the 
least  conscience  of  speaking  the  truth. 

In  this  place,  one  cold  night,  as  I  lay  by  the  fire,  I  removed 
a  stick  which  kept  the  heat  from  me  ;  a  squaw  moved  it  down 
again,  at  which  I  looked  up,  and  she  threw  an  handful  of  ashes 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  39 

in  my  eyes ;  I  thought  I  should  have  been  quite  blinded  and 
never  have  seen  more ;  but,  lying  down,  the  water  ran  out  of 
my  eyes,  and  carried  the  dirt  with  it,  that  by  the  morning  1 
recovered  my  sight  again.  Yet  upon  this,  and  the  like  occa 
sions,  I  hope  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  with  Job,  "  Have  pity 
upon  me,  have  pity  upon  me,  O  ye  my  friends,  for  the  hand  of 
the  LORD  has  touched  me"  And  here,  I  cannot  but  remem 
ber  how  many  times,  sitting  in  their  wigwams,  and  musing  on 
things  past,  I  should  suddenly  leap  up  arid  run  out,  as  if  I  had 
been  at  home,  forgetting  where  I  was,  and  what  my  condition 
was  ;  but  when  I  was  without,  and  saw  nothing  but  wilderness 
and  woods,  and  a  company  of  barbarous  heathen,  my  mind 
quickly  returned  to  me,  which  made  me  think  of  that  spoken 
concerning  Samson,  who  said,  "  I  will  go  out  and  shake  myself 
as  at  other  times,  but  he  wist  not  that  the  Lord  ivas  departed 
from  him" 

About  this  time  I  began  to  think  that  all  my  hopes  of  resto 
ration  would  come  to  nothing.  I  thought  of  the  English  army, 
and  hoped  for  their  coming,  and  being  retaken  by  them,  but 
that  failed.  I  hoped  to  be  carried  to  Albany,  as  the  Indians 
had  discoursed,  but  that  failed  also.  I  thought  of  being  sold 
to  my  husband,  as  my  master  spake ;  but  instead  of  that,  iny 
master  himself  was  gone,  and  I  left  behind,  so  that  my  spirit 
was  now  quite  ready  to  sink.  I  asked  them  to  let  me  go  out 
and  pick  up  some  sticks,  that  I  might  get  alone,  and  pour  out 
my  heart  unto  the  Lord.  Then  also  I  took  my  Bible  to  read, 
but  I  found  no  comfort  here  neither;  yet,  I  can  say  in  all  my 
sorrows  and  afflictions,  God  did  not  leave  me  to  have  any  im 
patient  work  toward  himself,  as  if  his  ways  were  unrighteous; 
but  I  knew  that  he  laid  upon  me  less  than  I  deserved.  After 
ward,  before  this  doleful  time  ended  with  me,  I  was  turning 
the  leaves  of  my  Bible,  and  the  Lord  brought  to  me  some 
scripture  which  did  a  little  revive  me ;  as  that,  Isa.  55  :  8, — 
"For  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  my  ivays 
your  ivays,  saith  the  Lord"  And  also  that,  Psalm  37 :  5, — 
"Commit  thy  ways  unto  the  Lord,  trust  also  in  him,  and  he 
shall  bring  it  to  pass." 

About  this  time,  they  came  yelping  from  Hadley,^  having 
there  killed  three  Englishmen,  and  brought  one  captive  with 
them,  viz.  Thomas  Reed.  They  all  gathered  about  the  poor 
man,  asking  him  many  questions.  I  desired  also  to  go  and 
see  him ;  and  when  I  came,  he  was  crying  bitterly,  supposing 

*  In  the  beginning  of  April,  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Hadley, 
having  ventured  out  some  distance  from  the  guard,  for  the  purpose  of  til 
lage,  were  attacked  by  the  Indians,  and  three  of  them  killed. 


40  MES.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

they  would  quickly  kill  him.  Whereupon  I  asked  one  of  them 
whether  they  intended  to  kill  him ;  he  answered  me  they 
would  not.  He  being  a  little  cheered  with  that,  I  asked  him 
ahout  the  welfare  of  my  husband ;  he  told  me  he  saw  him  such 
a  time  in  the  Bay,  and  he  was  well,  but  very  melancholy.  By 
which  I  certainly  understood,  though  I  suspected  it  before,  that 
whatsoever  the  Indians  told  me  respecting  him  was  vanity  and 
lies.  Some  of  them  told  me  he  was  dead,  and  they  had  killed 
him  ;  some  said  he  was  married  again,  and  that  the  governor 
wished  him  to  marry,  and  told  him  that  he  should  have  his 
choice ;  and  that  all  persuaded  him  that  I  was  dead.  So  like 
were  these  barbarous  creatures  to  him  who  was  a  liar  from  the 
beginning. 

As  I  was  sitting  once  in  the  wigwam  here,  Philip's  maid 
came  with  the  child  in  her  arms,  and  asked  me  to  give  her  a 
piece  of  my  apron  to  make  a  flap  for  it.  I  told  her  I  would 
not ;  then  my  mistress  bid  me  give  it,  but  I  still  said  no ;  the 
maid  told  me  if  I  would  not  give  her  a  piece,  she  would  teai 
a  piece  off  it.  I  told  her  I  would  tear  her  coat  then  :  with 
that  my  mistress  rises  up,  and  takes  up  a  stick  big  enough  to 
have  killed  me,  and  struck  at  me  with  it,  but  I  stept  out,  and 
she  struck  the  stick  into  the  mat  of  the  wigwam.  But  while 
she  was  pulling  it  out,  I  ran  to  the  maid,  and  gave  her  all  my 
apron ;  and  so  that  storm  went  over. 

Hearing  that  my  son  was  come  to  this  place,  I  went  to  see 
him,  and  told  him  his  father  was  well,  but  very  melancholy. 
He  told  me  he  was  as  much  grieved  for  his  father  as  for  him 
self.  I  wondered  at  his  speech,  for  I  thought  I  had  enough 
upon  my  spirit,  in  reference  to  myself,  to  make  me  mindless  of 
my  husband  and  every  one  else,  they  being  safe  among  their 
friends.  He  told  me  also,  that  a  while  before,  his  master,  to 
gether  with  other  Indians,  were  going  to  the  French  for  powder : 
but  by  the  way  the  Mohawks  met  with  them,  and  killed  four  of 
their  company,  which  made  the  rest  turn  back  again  ;  for  which 
I  desire  that  myself  and  he  may  ever  bless  the  Lord ;  for  it 
might  have  been  worse  with  him  had  he  been  sold  to  the 
French,  than  it  proved  to  be  in  his  remaining  with  the  Indians. 

I  went  to  see  an  English  youth  in  this  place,  one  John  Gil 
bert,  of  Springfield.  I  found  him  laying  without  doors  upon 
the  ground.  I  asked  him  how  he  did ;  he  told  me  he  was  very 
sick  of  a  flux  with  eating  so  much  blood.  They  had  turned 
him  out  of  the  wigwam,  and  with  him  an  Indian  papoos, 
almost  dead,  (whose  parents  had  been  killed,)  in  a  bitter  cold 
day,  without  fire  or  clothes;  the  young  man  himself  had 
nothing  on  but  his  shirt  and  waistcoat.  This  sight  was  enough 
to  melt  a  heart  of  flint.  There  they  lay  quivering  in  the  cold, 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  41 

the  youth  round  like  a  dog-,  the  papoos  stretched  out,  with  his 
eyes,  nose,  and  mouth  full  of  dirt,  and  yet  alive,  and  groaning. 
I  advised  John  to  go  and  get  to  some  fire  ;  he  told  me  he  could 
not  stand,  but  I  persuaded  him  still,  lest  he  should  lie  there 
and  die.  And  with  much  ado  I  got  him  to  a  fire,  and  went 
myself  home.  As  soon  as  I  was  got  home,  his  master's  daugh 
ter  came  after  me,  to  know  what  I  had  done  with  the  English 
man  ;  I  told  her  I  had  got  him  to  a  fire  in  such  a  place.  Now 
had  I  need  to  pray  Paul's  prayer,  2  Thess.  3 :  2, — "  that  we 
may  be  delivered  from  unreasonable  and  wicked  men."  For 
her  satisfaction  I  went  along  with  her,  and  brought  her  to  him ; 
but  before  I  got  home  again,  it  was  noised  about  that  I  was 
running  away,  and  getting  the  English  youth  along  with  me ; 
that  as  soon  as  I  came  in,  they  began  to  rant  and  domineer, 
asking  me  where  I  had  been,  and  what  I  had  been  doing,  and 
saying  they  would  knock  me  on  the  head.  I  told  them  I  had 
been  seeing  the  English  youth,  and  that  I  would  not  run  away. 
They  told  me  I  lied,  and  getting  up  a  hatchet,  they  came  to 
me  and  said  they  would  knock  me  down  if  I  stirred  out  again ; 
and  so  confined  me  to  the  wigwam.  Now  may  I  say  with 
David,  2  Sam.  24 :  14, — "  /  am  in  a  great  strait."  If  I  keep 
in,  I  must  die  with  hunger ;  and  if  I  go  out,  I  must  be  knocked 
on  the  head.  This  distressed  condition  held  that  day,  and  half 
the  next ;  and  then  the  Lord  remembered  me,  whose  mercies 
are  great.  Then  came  an  Indian  to  me  with  a  pair  of  stock 
ings  which  were  too  big  for  him,  and  he  would  have  me 
ravel  them  out,  and  knit  them  fit  for  him.  I  showed  myself 
willing,  and  bid  him  ask  my  mistress  if  I  might  go  along  with 
him  a  little  way.  She  said  yes,  I  might ;  but  I  was  not  a  little 
refreshed  with  that  news,  that  I  had  my  liberty  again.  Then 
I  went  along  with  him,  and  he  gave  me  some  roasted  ground 
nuts,  which  did  again  revive  my  feeble  stomach. 

Being  got  out  of  her  sight,  I  had  time  and  liberty  again  to 
look  into  my  Bible,  which  was  rny  guide  by  day,  and  my  pil 
low  by  night.  Now  that  comfortable  scripture  presented  itself 
to  me,  Isa.  45  :  7, — "  For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee, 
but  with  great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee."  Thus  the  Lord 
carried  me  along  from  one  time  to  another,  and  made  good  to 
me  this  precious  promise  and  many  others.  Then  my  son 
came  to  see  me,  and  I  asked  his  master  to  let  him  stay  a  while 
with  me,  that  I  might  comb  his  head  and  look  over  him,  for  he 
was  almost  overcome  with  lice.  He  told  me  when  I  had  done 
that  he  was  very  hungry,  but  I  had  nothing  to  relieve  him,  but 
bid  him  go  into  the  wigwams  as  he  went  along-,  and  see  if  he 
could  get  any  thing  among  them  ;  which  he  did,  and,  it  seems, 
tarried  a  little  too  long,  for  his  master  was  angry  with  him,  and 
4* 


42  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

beat  him,  and  then  sold  him.  Then  he  came  running  to  tell 
me  he  had  a  new  master,  and  that  he  had  given  him  some 
ground-nuts  already.  Then  I  went  along  with  him  to  his  new 
master,  who  told  me  he  loved  him,  and  he  should  not  want. 
So  his  master  carried  him  away ;  and  I  never  saw  him  after 
ward,  till  I  saw  him  at  Piscataqua,  in  Portsmouth. 

That  night  they  bid  me  go  out  of  the  wigwam  again  ;  my 
mistress's  papoos  was  sick,  and  it  died  that  night ;  and  there 
was  one  benefit  in  it,  that  there  was  more  room.  I  went  to  a 
wigwam  and  they  bid  me  come  in,  and  gave  me  a  skin  to  lie 
upon,  and  a  mess  of  venison  and  ground-nuts,  which  was  a 
choice  dish  among  them.  On  the  morrow  they  buried  the 
papoos ;  and  afterward,  both  morning  and  evening,  there  came 
a  company  to  mourn  and  howl  with  her ;  though  I  confess  I 
could  not  much  condole  with  them.  Many  sorrowful  days  I 
had  in  this  place ;  often  getting  alone,  "  like  a  crane  or  a 
swallow,  so  did  I  chatter  ;  I  did  mourn  as  a  dove;  mine  eyes  fail 
with  looking  upward.  O  Lord,  I  am  oppressed,  widertake  for 
me" — Isa.  38 :  14.  I  could  tell  the  Lord  as  Hezekiah,  ver.  3, 
"  Re?nember  now,  O  Lord,  I  beseech  thee,  how  I  have  walked  be- 
fore  thee  in  truth."  Now  had  I  time  to  examine  all  my  ways. 
My  conscience  did  not  accuse  me  of  unrighteousness  towards 
one  or  another ;  yet  I  saw  how  in  my  walk  with  God  I  had  been 
L  careless  creature.  As  David  said,  "  against  thee  only  have  1 
sinned."  And  I  might  say  with  the  poor  publican,  "  God  be 
merciful  unto  me  a  sinner  "  Upon  the  Sabbath  days  I  could 
look  upon  the  sun,  and  think  how  people  were  going  to  the 
house  of  God  to  have  their  souls  refreshed,  and  then  home  and 
their  bodies  also ;  but  1  was  destitute  of  both,  and  might  say 
as  the  poor  prodigal,  *•  He  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly  with 
the  husks  that  the  swine  did  eat,  and  no  man  gave  unto  him.'" 
Luke  15:  16.  For  I  must  say  with  him,  "  Father,  I  have  sin 
ned  against  heaven  and  in  thy  tight." — Ver.  21.  I  remember 
how  on  the  night  before  and  after  the  Sabbath,  when  my  fam 
ily  was  about  me,  and  relations  and  neighbors  with  us,  we 
could  pray,  and  sing,  and  refresh  our  bodies  with  the  good 
creatures  of  God,  and  then  have  a  comfortable  bed  to  lie  down 
on  ;  but  instead  of  all  this,  I  had  only  a  little  swill  for  the  body, 
and  then,  like  a  swine,  must  lie  down  on  the  ground.  I  cannot 
express  to  man  the  sorrow  that  lay  upon  my  spirit,  the  Lord 
knows  it.  Yet  that  comfortable  scripture  would  often  come  to 
my  mind, — "  For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee,  but  with 
great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee" 

THE  FOURTEENTH  REMOVE. — Now  must  we  pack  up  and  be 
gone  from  this  thicket,  bending  our  course  towards  the  Bay 
towns ;  I  having  nothing  to  eat  by  the  way  this  day  but  a  few 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  43 

crums  of  cake  that  an  Indian  gave  my  girl  the  same  day  we 
were  taken.  She  gave  it  me,  and  I  put  it  in  my  pocket. 
There  it  lay,  till  it  was  so  mouldy,  for  want  of  good  baking, 
.that  one  could  not  tell  what  it  was  made  of;  it  fell  all  into 
crums,  and  grew  so  dry  and  hard  that  it  was  like  little  flints ; 
and  this  refreshed  me  many  times  when  I  was  ready  to  faint. 
It  was  in  my  thoughts  when  I  put  it  to  my  mouth,  that  if  ever 
I  returned  I  would  tell  the  world  what  a  blessing  the  Lord 
gave  to  such  moan  food.  As  we  went  along,  they  killed  a 
deer,  with  a  young  one  in  her.  They  gave  me  a  piece  of  the 
fawn,  and  it  was  so  young  and  tender  that  one  might  eat  the 
bones  as  well  as  the  flesh,  and  yet  I  thought  it  A^ery  good. 
When  night  came  on  we  sat  down.  It  rained,  but  they  quickly 
got  up  a  bark  wigwam,  where  I  lay  dry  that  night.  I  looked 
out  in  the  morning,  and  many  of  them  had  lain  in  the  rain  all 
night,  I  knew  by  their  reeking.  Thus  the  Lord  dealt  merci 
fully  with  me  many  times,  and  I  fared  better  than  many  of 
them.  In  the  morning  they  took  the  blood  of  the  deer,  and 
put  it  into  the  paunch,  and  so  boiled  it.  I  could  eat  nothing 
of  that,  though  they  eat  it  sweetly.  And  yet  they  were  so 
nice  in  other  things,  that  when  I  had  fetched  water,  and  had 
put  the  dish  I  dipped  the  water  with  into  the  kettle  of  water 
which  I  brought,  they  would  say  they  would  knock  me  down, 
for  they  said  it  was  a  sluttish  trick. 

THE  FIFTEENTH  REMOVE. — We  went  on  our  travel.  I  hav 
ing  got  a  handful  of  ground-nuts  for  my  support  that  day, 
they  gave  me  my  load,  and  I  went  on  cheerfully,  with  the 
thoughts  of  going  homeward,  having  my  burthen  more  upon 
my  back  than  my  spirit.  We  came  to  Baquaug  river  again 
that  day,  near  which  we  abode  a  few  days.  Sometimes  one 
of  them  would  give  me  a  pipe,  another  a  little  tobacco,  another 
a  little  salt,  which  I  would  change  for  victuals.  I  cannot  but 
think  what  a  wolfish  appetite  persons  have  in  a  starving  con 
dition  ;  for  many  times,  when  they  gave  me  that  which  was 
hot,  I  was  so  greedy,  that  I  should  burn  my  mouth,  that  it 
would  trouble  me  many  hours  after,  and  yet  I  should  quickly 
do  the  like  again.  And  after  I  was  thoroughly  hungry,  I  was 
never  again  satisfied ;  for  though  it  sometimes  fell  out  that  I 
had  got  enough,  and  did  eat  till  I  could  eat  no  more,  yet  I  was 
as  unsatisfied  as  I  was  when  I  began.  And  now  could  I  see 
that  scripture  verified,  there  being  many  scriptures  that  we  do 
not  take  notice  of  or  understand  till  we  are  afflicted,  Mic.  6  :  14, 
— "  Thou  shalt  eat  and  not  be  satisfied"  Now  might  I  see  more 
than  ever  before  the  miseries  that  sin  hath  brought  upon  us. 
Many  times  I  should  be  ready  to  run  out  against  the  heathen, 
but  that  scripture  would  quiet  me  again,  Amos  3 :  6, — "  Shall 


44  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

there  be  evil  in  the  city,  and  the  Lord  hath  not  done  it  ?  "  The 
Lord  help  me  to  make  a  right  improvement  of  his  word,  that  I 
might  learn  that  great  lesson,  Mic.  6  :  8,  9, — "  He  hath  showed 
thee,  O  man,  what  is  good  ;  and  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of 
thee,  but  to  do  justly  and  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  thy 
God  ?  Hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath  appointed  it." 

THE  SIXTEENTH  REMOVE. — We  began  this  remove  with 
wading  over  Baquaug  river.  The  water  was  up  to  our  knees, 
and  the  stream  very  swift,  and  so  cold  that  I  thought  it  would 
have  cut  me  in  sunder.  I  was  so  weak  and  feeble  that  I  reeled 
as  I  went  along,  and  thought  there  I  must  end  my  days  at  last, 
after  my  bearing  and  getting  through  so  many  difficulties. 
The  Indians  stood  laughing  to  see  me  staggering  along,  but  in 
my  distress  the  Lord  gave  me  experience  of  the  truth  and 
goodness  of  that  promise,  Isa.  43:  2, — "When  thou  passeth 
through  the  water  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through  the  rivers, 
they  shall  not  overflow  thee."  Then  I  sat  down  to  put  on  my 
stockings  and  shoes,  with  the  tears  running  down  my  eyes, 
and  many  sorrowful  thoughts  in  my  heart.  But  I  got  up  to 
go  along  with  them.  Quickly  there  came  up  to  us  an  Indian 
who  informed  them  that  I  must  go  to  Wachuset^  to  my  mas 
ter,  for  there  was  a  letter  come  from  the  council  to  the  saga 
mores  about  redeeming  the  captives,  and  that  there  would  be 
another  in  fourteen  days,  and  that  I  must  be  there  ready.  My 
heart  was  so  heavy  before  that  I  could  scarce  speak  or  go  in 
the  path,  and  yet'now  so  light  that  I  could  run.  My  strength 
seemed  to  come  again,  and  to  recruit  my  feeble  knees  and 
aching  heart ;  yet  it  pleased  them  to  go  but  one  mile  that 
night,  and  there  we  staid  two  days.  In  that  time  came  a  com 
pany  of  Indians  to  us,  near  thirty,  all  on  horseback.  My  heart 
skipped  within  me,  thinking  they  had  been  Englishmen,  at  the 
first  sight  of  them;  for  they  were  dressed  in  English  apparel, 
with  hats,  white  neckcloths,  and  sashes  about  their  waists,  and 
ribbons  upon  their  shoulders.  But  when  they  came  near  there 
was  a  vast  difference  between  the  lovely  faces  of  Christians 
and  the  foul  looks  of  those  heathen,  which  much  damped  my 
spirits  again. 

THE  SEVENTEENTH  REMOVE. — A  comfortable  remove  it  was 
to  me,  because  of  my  hopes.  They  gave  me  my  pack  and 
along  we  went  cheerfully.  But  quickly  my  will  proved  more 

*  Princeton.  The  mountain  in  this  town  still  retains  the  name  of  Wa- 
chuset,  notwithstanding  a  recent  attempt  to  change  it  to  Mount  Adams. 
[I  venerate  the  name  of  Adams,  but  I  must  protest  against  the  heathen- 
like  practice  of  destroying  the  old  names  of  places.  The  interior  of  New 
York  deserves  to  be  chastised  by  an  earthquake  for  such  libellous  con 
duct.— Ed.] 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  45 

than  my  strength ;  having  little  or  no  refreshment,  my  strength 
failed,  and  my  spirits  were  almost  quite  gone.  Now  may  I 
say  as  David,  Psal.  109:  22,  23,  24,— "lam  poor  and  needy, 
and  my  heart  is  wounded  within  me.  I  am  gone  like  a  shadow 
when  it  declineth.  I  am  tossed  i*p  and  down  like  the  locust. 
My  knees  are  weak  through  fasting,  and  my  Jlesh  faileth  of  fat 
ness."  At  night  we  came  to  an  Indian  town,  and  the  Indians 
sat  down  by  a  wigwam  discoursing,  but  I  was  almost  spent 
and  could  scarce  speak.  I  laid  down  my  load  and  went  into 
the  wigwam,  and  there  sat  an  Indian  boiling  of  horse-feet, 
they  being  wont  to  eat  the  flesh  first,  and  when  the  feet  were 
old  and  dried,  and  they  had  nothing  else,  they  would  cut  off 
the  feet  and  use  them.  I  asked  him  to  give  me  a  little  of  his 
broth,  or  water  they  were  boiling  it  in.  He  took  a  dish  and 
gave  me  one  spoonful  of  samp,  and  bid  me  take  as  much  of 
the  broth  as  I  would.  Then  I  put  some  of  the  hot  water  to 
the  samp,  and  drank  it  up,  and  my  spirits  came  again.  He 
gave  me  also  a  piece  of  the  ruffe,  or  ridding  of  the  small  guts, 
and  I  broiled  it  on  the  coals ;  and  now  I  may  say  with  Jona 
than,  "See,  I  pray  you,  how  mine  eyes  are  enlightened  because 
I  tasted  a  little  of  this  honey." — 1  Sam.  14:  20.  Now  is  my 
spirit  revived  again.  Though  means  be  never  so  inconside 
rable,  yet  if  the  Lord  bestow  his  blessing  upon  them,  they  shall 
refresh  both  soul  and  body. 

THE  EIGHTEENTH  REMOVE. — We  took  up  our  packs,  and 
along  we  went ;  but  a  wearisome  day  I  had  of  it.  As  we 
went  along,  I  saw  an  Englishman  stripped  naked  and  lying 
dead  upon  the  ground,  but  knew  not  who  he  was.  Then  we 
came  to  another  Indian  town,  where  we  staid  all  night.  In 
this  town  there  were  four  English  children  captives,  and  one 
of  them  my  own  sister's.  I  went  to  see  how  she  did,  and  she 
was  well,  considering  her  captive  condition.  I  would  have 
tarried  that  night  with  her,  but  they  that  owned  her  would  not 
suffer  it.  Then  I  went  to  another  wigwam,  where  they  were 
boiling  corn  and  beans,  which  was  a  lovely  sight  to  see,  but  I 
could  not  get  a  taste  thereof.  Then  I  went  into  another  wig 
wam,  where  there  were  two  of  the  English  children.  The 
squaw  was  boiling  horses'  feet.  She  cut  me  ofF  a  little  piece, 
and  gave  one  of  the  English  children  a  piece  also.  Being 
very  hungry,  I  had  quickly  eat  up  mine ;  but  the  child  could 
not  bite  it,  it  was  so  tough  and  sinewy,  and  lay  sucking,  gnaw 
ing,  and  slabbering  of  it  in  the  mouth  and  hand ;  then  I  took 
it  of  the  child,  and  eat  it  myself,  and  savory  it  was  to  my  taste  : 
that  I  may  say  as  Job,  chap.  6:  7, — "The  things  that  my  soul 
refuseth  to  touch  are  as  my  sorrowful  meat."  Thus  the  Lord 
made  that  pleasant  and  refreshing  which  another  time  would 


46  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

have  been  an  abomination.  Then  I  went  home  to  my  mis 
tress'  wigwam,  and  they  told  me  I  disgraced  my  master  with 
begging,  and  if  I  did  so  any  more  they  would  knock  me  on 
the  head.  I  told  them  they  had  as  good  do  that  as  starve  me 
to  death. 

THE  NINETEENTH  REMOVE. — They  said  when  we  went  out 
that  we  must  travel  to  Wachuset  this  day.  But  a  bitter  weary 
day  I  had  of  it,  travelling  now  three  days  together,  without 
resting  any  day  between.  At  last,  after  many  weary  steps,  1 
saw  Wachuset  hills,  but  many  miles  off.  Then  we  came  to  a 
great  swamp,  through  which  we  travelled  up  to  our  knees  in 
mud  and  water,  which  was  heavy  going  to  one  tired  before. 
Being  almost  spent,  I  thought  I  should  have  sunk  down  at 
last,  and  never  got  out;  but  I  may  say  as  in  Psalm  94:  18, — 
'•'-When  my  foot  slipped,  thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  held  me  up." 
Going  along,  having  indeed  my  life,  but  little  spirit,  Philip, 
who  was  in  the  company,  came  up,  and  took  me  by  the  hand, 
and  said,  "  Two  weeks  more  and  you  shall  be  mistress  again." 
I  asked  him  if  he  spoke  true.  He  said,  "  Yes,  and  quickly 
you  shall  come  to  your  master  again ;"  who  had  been  gone 
from  us  three  weeks.  After  many  weary  steps,  we  came  to 
Wachuset,  where  he  was,  and  glad  was  I  to  see  him.  He 
asked  me  when  I  washed  me.  I  told  him  not  this  month. 
Then  he  fetched  me  some  water  himself,  and  bid  me  wash, 
and  gave  me  a  glass  to  see  how  I  looked,  and  bid  his  squaw 
give  me  something  to  eat.  So  she  gave  me  a  mess  of  beans 
and  meat,  and  a  little  ground-nut  cake.  I  was  wonderfully 
revived  with  this  favor  showed  me.  Psalm  106:  46, — "He 
made  them  also  to  be  pitied  of  all  those  that  carried  them  away 
captive" 

My  master  had  three  squaws,  living  sometimes  with  one 
and  sometimes  with  another :  Onux,  this  old  squaw  at  whose 
wigwam  I  was,  and  with  whom  my  master  had  been  these 
three  wreeks.  Another  was  Wettimore,^  with  whom  I  had 
lived  and  served  all  this  while.  A  severe  and  proud  dame 
she  was,  bestowing  every  day  in  dressing  herself  near  as  much 
time  as  any  of  the  gentry  of  the  land ;  powdering  her  hair  and 
painting  her  face,  going  with  her  necklaces,  with  jewels  in  her 
ears,  and  bracelets  upon  her  hands.  When  she  had  dressed 
herself,  her  work  was  to  make  girdles  of  wampum  and  beads. 
The  third  squaw  was  a  younger  one,  by  whom  he  had  two 
papooses.  By  that  time  I  was  refreshed  by  the  old  squaw, 
Wettimore's  maid  came  to  call  me  home,  at  which  I  fell  a 

*  She  had  been  the  wife  of  Alexander,  Philip's  elder  brother.  See 
BwJc  of  the  Indian* 


MRS.  KOWLANPSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  47 

weeping.  Then  the  old  squaw  told  me,  to  encourage  me,  that 
when  I  wanted  victuals  I  should  come  to  her,  and  that  I  should 
lie  in  her  wigwam.  Then  I  went  with  the  maid,  and  quickly 
I  came  back  and  lodged  there.  The  squaw  laid  a  mat  undei 
me,  and  a  good  rug  over  me  ;  the  first  time  that  I  had  any  such 
kindness  showed  me.  I  understood  that  Wettimore  thought, 
that  if  she  should  let  me  go  and  serve  with  the  old  squaw  she 
should  be  in  danger  to  lose  not  only  my  service,  but  the  re 
demption-pay  also.  And  I  was  not  a  little  glad  to  hear  this ; 
being  by  it  raised  in  my  hopes  that  in  God's  due  time  there 
would  be  an  end  of  this  sorrowful  hour.  Then  came  an  Indian 
and  asked  me  to  knit  him  three  pair  of  stockings,  for  which  I 
had  a  hat  and  a  silk  handkerchief.  Then  another  asked  me 
to  make  her  a  shift,  for  which  she  gave  me  an  apron. 

Then  came  Tom  and  Peter  with  the  second  letter  from  the 
council,  about  the  captives.  Though  they  were  Indians,  I  gat 
them  by  the  hand,  and  bitrst  out  into  tears ;  my  heart  was  so 
full  that  I  could  not  speak  to  them ;  but  recovering  myself,  I 
asked  them  how  my  husband  did,  and  all  my  friends  and 
acquaintance.  They  said  they  were  well,  but  very  melancholy. 
They  brought  me  two  biscuits  and  a  pound  of  tobacco.  The 
tobacco  I  soon  gave  away.  When  it  was  all  gone  one  asked 
me  to  give  him  a  pipe  of  tobacco.  I  told  him  it  was  all  gone. 
Then  he  began  to  rant  and  threaten.  I  told  him  when  my 
husband  came  I  would  give  him  some.  "  Hang  him,  rogue," 
says  he  ;  "I  will  knock  out  his  brains  if  he  comes  here."  And 
then  again  at  the  same  breath  they  would  say  that  if  there 
should  come  an  hundred  without  guns  they  would  do  them  no 
hurt ;  so  unstable  and  like  madmen  they  were.  So  that  fear 
ing  the  worst,  I  durst  not  send  to  my  husband,  though  there 
were  some  thoughts  of  his  coming  to  redeem  and  fetch  me,  not 
knowing  what  might  follow ;  for  there  was  little  more  trust  to 
them  than  to  the  master  they  served.  When  the  letter  was 
come,  the  sagamores  met  to  consult  about  the  captives,  and 
called  me  to  them,  to  inquire  how  much  my  husband  would 
give  to  redeem  me.  When  I  came  I  sat  down  among  them, 
as  I  was  wont  to  do,  as  their  manner  is.  Then  they  bid  me 
stand  up,  and  said  they  were  the  general  court.  They  bid  me 
speak  what  I  thought  he  would  give.  Now  knowing  that  all 
that  we  had  was  destroyed  by  the  Indians,  I  was  in  a  great 
strait.  I  thought  if  I  should  speak  of  but  a  little,  it  would  be 
slighted  and  hinder  the  matter;  if  of  a  great  sum,  I  knew  not 
where  it  would  be  procured ;  yet  at  a  venture  I  said  twenty 
pounds,  yet  desired  them  to  take  less  ;  but  they  would  not  hear 
of  that,  but  sent  the  message  to  Boston,  that  for  twenty  pounds 
I  should  be  redeemed.  It  was  a  praying  Indian  that  wrote 


48  MRS.  KOWLANDSOJSPS  CAPTIVIT3T. 

their  letters  for  them.*  There  was  another  praying  Indian 
who  told  me  that  he  had  a  brother  that  would  not  eat  horse, 
his  conscience  was  so  tender  and  scrupulous,  though  as  large 
as  hell  for  the  destruction  of  poor  Christians.  Then  he  said 
he  read  that  scripture  to  him.  2  Kings  6  :  25, — "  There  was  a 
famine  in  Samaria,  and  behold  they  besieged  it,  until  an  ass's 
head  was  sold  for  fourscore  pieces  of  silver,  and  the  fourth  part 
of  a  kab  of  dove's  dung  for  five  pieces  of  silver."  He  expound 
ed  this  place  to  his  brother,  and  showed  him  that  it  was  lawful 
to  eat  that  in  a  famine  which  it  is  not  at  another  time.  "And 
now,"  says  he,  "he  will  eat  horse  with  any  Indian  of  them 
all."  There  was  another  praying  Indian,!  who,  when  he  had 
done  all  the  mischief  that  he  could,  betrayed  his  own  father 
into  the  English's  hands,  thereby  to  purchase  his  own  life. 
Another  praying  Indian  was  at  Sudbury  fight,  though,  as  he 
deserved,  he  was  afterwards  hanged  for  it.  There  was  another 
praying  Indian  so  \vicked  and  cruel  as  to  wear  a  string  about 
his  neck  strung  with  Christian  fingers.  Another  praying  In 
dian,  when  they  went  to  Sudbury  fight,  went  with  them,  and 
his  squaAV  also  with  him,  with  her  papoos  at  her  back.t  Be 
fore  they  went  to  that  fight,  they  got  a  company  together  to 
powow.  The  manner  was  as  followeth. 

There  was  one  that  kneeled  upon  a  deer-skin,  with  the  com 
pany  around  him  in  a  ring,  who  kneeled,  striking  upon  the 
ground  with  their  hands  and  with  sticks,  and  muttering  or 
humming  with  their  mouths.  Besides  him  who  kneeled  in 
the  ring  there  also  stood  one  with  a  gun  in  his  hand.  Then 
he  on  the  deer-skin  made  a  speech,  and  all  manifested  assent 
to  it ;  and  so  they  did  many  times  together.  Then  they  bid 
him  with  a  gun  go  out  of  the  ring,  which  he  did ;  but  when 
he  was  out,  they  called  him  in  again ;  but  he  seemed  to  make 
a  stand.  Then  they  called  the  more  earnestly,  till  he  turned 
again.  Then  they  all  sang.  Then  they  gave  him  two  guns, 
in  each  hand  one.  And  so  he  on  the  deer-skin  began  again; 
and  at  the  end  of  every  sentence  in  his  speaking  they  all 
assented,  and  humming  or  muttering  with  their  mouths,  and 
striking  upon  the  ground  with  their  hands.  Then  they  bid 
him  with  the  two  guns  go  out  of  the  ring  again ;  which  he  did 

*  They  may  be  seen  in  the  Book  of  the  Indians. 

f  Peter  Jethro.— 7J    . 

J  These  remarks  ot  Mrs.  Rowlandson  are  no  doubt  just.  The  praying 
Indians,  after  all,  take  them  as  a  class,  made  but  sorry  Christians.  More 
comfortable  dwellings,  a  few  blankets  every  year,  some  small  privileges, 
and  a  little  increase,  for  the  time,  of  personal  consideration,  were  motives 
sufficiently  strong  to  induce  savages  to  change  their  religious  faith,  which 
at  best  hung  but  very  looselv  about  them. 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  04PTIVITY.  49 

a  little  way.  Then  they  called  him  again,  but  he  made  a  stand, 
so  they  called  him  with  greater  earnestness ;  but  he  stood 
reeling  and  wavering,  as  if  he  knew  not  whether  he  should 
stand  or  fall,  or  which  way  to  go.  Then  they  called  him  with 
exceeding  great  vehemency,  all  of  them,  one  and  another. 
After  a  little  while  he  turned  in,  staggering  as  he  went,  with 
his  arms  stretched  out,  in  each  hand  a  gun.  As  soon  as  he 
came  in,  they  all  sang  and  rejoiced  exceedingly  a  while,  and 
then  he  upon  the  deer-skin  made  another  speech,  unto  which 
they  all  assented  in  a  rejoicing  manner;  and  so  they  ended 
their  business,  and  forthwith  went  to  Sudbury  fight. * 

To  my  thinking,  they  went  without  any  scruple  but  that 
they  should  prosper  and  gain  the  victory.  And  they  went  out  j-i 

not  so  rejoicing,  but  they  came  home  with  as  great  a  victory  ; 
for  they  said  they  killed  two  captains  and  almost  an  hundred 
men.  One  Englishman  they  brought  alive  with  them,  and  he 
said  it  was  too  true,  for  they  had  made  sad  work  at  Sudbury ; 
as  indeed  it  proved.  Yet  they  came  home  without  that  rejoic 
ing  and  triumphing  over  their  victory  which  they  were  wont 
to  show  at  other  times  ;  but  rather  like  dogs,  as  they  say,  which 
have  lost  their  cars.  Yet  I  could  not  perceive  that  it  was  for 
their  own  loss  of  men ;  they  said  they  lost  not  above  five  or 
six ;  and  I  missed  none,  except  in  one  wigwam.  When  they 
went  they  acted  as  if  the  devil  had  told  them  that  they  should 
gain  the  victory,  and  now  they  acted  as  if  the  devii  had  told 
them  they  should  have  a  fall.  Whether  it  were  so  or  no,  I 
cannot  tell,  but  so  it  proved ;  for  they  quickly  began  to  fall, 
and  so  held  on  that  summer,  till  they  came  to  utter  rum.  They 
came  home  on  a  Sabbath  day,  and  the  pawavv  that  kneeled 
upon  the  deer-skin  came  home,  I  may  say  without  any  abuse, 
as  black  as  the  devil.  When  my  master  came  home  he  came 
to  me  and  bid  me  make  a  shirt  for  his  papoos,  of  a  Holland 
laced  pillowbeer. 

About  that  time  there  came  an  Indian  to  me,  and  bid  me 
come  to  his  wigwam  at  night,  and  he  would  give  me  some  pork 
and  ground-nuts,  which  I  did  ;  and  as  I  was  eating,  another 
Indian  said  to  me,  "  He  seems  to  be  your  good  friend,  but  he 
killed  two  Englishmen  at  Sudbury,  and  there  lie  the  clothes 
behind  you."  I  looked  behind  me,  and  there  I  saw  bloody 
clothes,  with  bullet-holes  in  them  ;  yet  the  Lord  suffered  not 
this  wretch  to  do  me  any  hurt,  yea,  instead  of  that,  he  many 
times  refreshed  me :  five  or  six  times  did  he  and  his  squaw 
refresh  my  feeble  carcass.  If  I  went  to  their  wigwam  at  any 
time,  they  would  always  give  me  something,  and  yet  they  were 

*  Sudbury  was  attacked  21st  April. 

4 


50  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S   CAPTIVITY. 

strangers  that  I  never  saw  before.  Another  squaw  gave  me  a 
piece  of  fresh  pork,  and  a  little  salt  with  it, and  lent  me  her  frying 
pan  to  fry  it ;  and  I  cannot  but  remember  what  a  sweet,  pleasant 
and  delightful  relish  that  bit  had  to  me,  to  this  day.  So  little 
do  we  prize  common  mercies,  when  we  have  them  to  the  full. 

THE  TWENTIETH  REMOVE. — It  was  their  usual  manner  to 
remove  when  they  had  done  any  mischief,  lest  they  should  be 
found  out ;  and  so  they  did  at  this  time.  We  went  about 
three  or  four  miles,  and  there  they  built  a  great  wigwam,  big 
enough  to  hold  an  hundred  Indians,  which  they  did  in  prepa 
ration  to  a  great  day  of  dancing.  They  would  now  say  among 
themselves  that  the  governor^  would  be  so  angry  for  his  loss 
at  Sudbury  that  he  would  send  no  more  about  the  captives, 
which  made  me  grieve  and  tremble,  My  sistert  being  not  far 
from  this  place,  and  hearing  that  I  was  here,  desired  her  mas 
ter  to  let  her  come  and  see  me,  and  he  was  willing  to  it,  and 
would  come  with  her  ;  but  she,  being  ready  first,  told  him  she 
would  go  before,  and  was  come  within  a  mile  or  two  of  the 
place.  Then  he  overtook  her,  and  began  to  rant  as  if  he  had 
been  mad,  and  made  her  go  back  again  in  the  rain  ;  so  that  I 
never  saw  her  till  I  saw  her  in  Charlestown.  But  the  Lord 
requited  many  of  their  ill  doings,  for  this  Indian,  her  master, 
was  hanged  afterwards  at  Boston. t  They  began  now  to  corne 
from  all  quarters,  against  their  merry  dancing  day.  Amongst 
some  of  them  came  one  goodwife  Kettle.  I  told  her  my  heart 
was  so  heavy  that  it  was  ready  to  break.  "  So  is  mine  too," 
said  she,  "  but  yet  I  hope  we  shall  hear  some  good  n«nvs  short 
ly."  I  could  hear  how  earnestly  rny  sister  desired  to  see  me, 
and  I  earnestly  desired  to  see  her  ;  yet  neither  of  us  could  get 
an  opportunity.  My  daughter  was  now  but  a  mile  off,  ana  I 
had  not  seen  her  for  nine  or  ten  weeks,  as  I  had  not  seen  my 
sister  since  our  first  taking,  f  desired  them  to  let  me  go  and 
see  them,  yea  I  entreated,  begged  and  persuaded  them  to  let 
me  sea  my  daughter  ;  and  yet  so  hard-hearted  were  they  that 
they  would  not  suffer  it.  They  made  use  of  their  tyrannical 
power  whilst  they  had  it,  but  through  the  Lord's  wonderful 
mercy  their  time  was  now  but  short. 

On  a  Sabbath  day,  the  sun  being  about  an  hour  high  in  the 
afternoon,  came  Mr.  John  Hoar,  (the  council  permitting  him, 
and  his  own  forward  spirit  inclining  him,)  together  wirh  the 
two  forementioned  Indians,  Torn  and  Peter,  with  the  third  let 
ter  from  the  council.  When  they  came  near,  I  was  abroad. 

*  Leverett.  j  Mrs.  Brew. 

|  Mrs.  Drew's  master  was  probably  Mmioco.  Several  chiefs  were 
handed  at  the  same,  urne,  viz.  2tith  &jpt.  lt>7o. 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S   CAPTIVITY.  51 

They  presently  called  me  in,  and  bid  me  sit  down  and  not  stir. 
Then  they  catched  up  their  guns  and  away  they  ran,  as  if  an 
enemy  had  been  at  hand,  and  the  guns  went  o(T  apace.  I 
manifested  some  great  trouble,  and  asked  them  what  was  the 
matter.  I  told  them  I  thought  they  had  killed  the  English 
man,  (for  they  had  in  the  mean  time  told  me  that  an  English 
man  was  come ;)  they  said  no  ;  they  shot  over  his  horse,  and 
under,  and  before  his  horse,  and  they  pushed  him  this  way 
and  that  way,  at  their  pleasure,  showing  him  what  they  could 
do.  Then  they  let  him  come  to  their  wigwams.  I  begged  of 
them  to  let  rne  see  the  Englishman,  but  they  would  not ;  but 
there  was  I  fain  to  sit  their  pleasure.  When  they  had  talked 
their  fill  with  him,  they  suffered  me  to  go  to  him.  We  asked 
each  other  of  our  welfare,  and  how  my  husband  did,  and  all 
my  friends.  He  told  me  they  were  all  well,  and  would  be  glad 
to  see  me.  Among  other  things  which  my  husband  sent  me, 
there  came  a  pound  of  tobacco,  which  I  sold  for  nine  shilling's 
in  money ;  for  many  of  them  for  want  of  tobacco  smoked 
hemlock  and  ground-ivy.  It  was  a  great  mistake  in  any  who 
thought  I  sent  for  tobacco,  for  through  the  favor  of  God  that 
desire  was  overcome. 

I  now  asked  them  whether  I  should  go  home  with  Mr. 
Hoar.  They  answered  no,  one  and  another  of  them,  and  it 
being  lato,  we  lay  down  with  that  answer.  In  the  morning 
Mr.  Hoar  invited  the  sagamores  to  dinner  ;  but  when  we  .went 
to  get  it  ready,  we  found  they  had  stolen  the  greatest  part  of 
the  provisions  Mr.  Hoar  had  brought.  And  we  may  see  the 
wonderful  power  of  God,  in  that  one  passage,  in  that  when 
there  was  such  a  number  of  them  together,  and  so  greedy  of 
a  little  good  food,  and  no  English  there  but  Mr.  Hoar  and 
myself,  that  there  they  did  not  knock  us  on  the  head  and  take 
what  we  had ;  there  being  not  only  some  provision,  but  also 
trading  cloth,  a  part  of  the  twenty  pounds  agreed  upon.  But 
instead  of  doing  us  any  mischief,  they  seemed  to  be  ashamed 
of  the  fact,  and  said  it  was  the  matchit*  Indians  that  did  it. 
Oh  that  we  could  believe  that  there  was  nothing  too  hard  for 
God.  God  showed  his  power  over  the  heathen  in  this,  as  he 
did  over  the  hungry  lions  when  Daniel  was  cast  into  the  den. 

Mr.  Hoar  called  them  beiime  to  dinner,  but.  they  ate  but  little, 
they  being  so  busy  in  dressing  themselves  and  getting  ready  for 
their  dance ;  which  was  carried  on  by  eight  of  them,  four  rnen  and 
four  squaws,  my  master  and  mistress  being  two.  He  was  dres 
sed  in  his  Holland  shirt,  with  great  stockings,  his  garters  hung 
round  with  shillings,  arid  had  girdles  of  wampom  upon  his 

*  Wicked. 


52  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

head  and  shoulders.  She  had  a  kersey  coat,  covered  with  gir 
dles  of  wampom  from  the  loins  upward.  Her  arms  from  her 
elbows  to  her  hands  were  covered  with  bracelets  ;  there  were 
handfuls  of  necklaces  about  her  neck,  and  several  sorts  of 
jewels  in  her  ears.  She  had  fine  red  stockings,  and  white 
shoes,  her  hair  powdered,  and  her  face  painted  red,  that  was 
always  before  black.  And  all  the  dancers  were  after  the 
same  manner.  There  were  two  others  singing  and  knocking 
on  a  kettle  for  their  music.  They  kept  hopping  up  and  down 
one  after  another,  with  a  kettle  of  water  in  the  midst,  stand 
ing  warm  upon  some  embers,  to  drink  of  when  they  were  dry. 
They  held  on  till  almost  night,  throwing  out  their  wampom  to 
the  standers-by.  At  night  I  asked  them  again  if  I  should  go 
home.  They  all  as  one  said  no,  except  my  husband  would 
come  for  me.  When  we  were  lain  down,  my  master  went  out 
of  the  wigwam,  and  by  and  by  sent  in  an  Indian  called  James 
the  printer,  who  told  Mr.  Hoar  that  my  master  would  let  me 
go  home  to-morrow  if  he  would  let  him  have  one  pint  of 
liquor.  Then  Mr.  Hoar  called  his  own  Indians,  Tom  and  Pe 
ter,  and  bid  them  all  go  and  see  if  he  would  promise  it  before 
them  three,  and  if  he  would  he  should  have  it ;  which  he  did 
and  had  it.  Philip,  smelling  the  business,  called  me  to  him, 
and  asked  me  what  I  would  give  him  to  tell  me  some  good 
news,  and  to  speak  a  good  word  for  me,  that  I  might  go  home 
to-morrow.  I  told  him  I  could  not  tell  what  to  give  him,  I 
would  any  thing  I  had,  and  asked  him  what  he  would  have. 
He  said  two  coats,  and  twenty  shillings  in  money,  half  a  bushel 
of  seed  corn,  and  some  tobacco.  I  thanked  him  for  his  love, 
but  I  knew  that  good  news  as  well  as  that  crafty  fox. 

My  master,  after  he  had  his  drink,  quickly  came  ranting 
into  the  wigwam  again,  and  called  for  Mr.  Hoar,  drinking  to 
him  and  saying  he  was  a  good  man,  and  then  again  he  would 
say,  "  hang  him,  a  rogue."  Being  almost  drunk,  he  would 
drink  to  him,  and  yet  presently  say  he  should  be  hanged. 
Then  he  called  for  me.  I  trembled  to  hear  him,  and  yet  I  was 
fain  to  go  to  him  ;  and  he  drank  to  me,  showing  no  incivility. 
He  was  the  first  Indian  I  saw  drunk,  all  the  time  I  was  among 
them.  At  last  his  squaw  ran  out,  and  he  after  her  round  the 
wigwam,  with  his  money  jingling  at  his  knees,  but  she  es 
caped  him  ;  nut  having  and  old  squaw,  he  ran  to  her,  and  so 
through  the  Lord's  mercy  we  were  no  more  troubled  with  him 
that  night.  Yet  I  had  not  a  comfortable  night's  rest  ;  for  I 
think  1  can  say  I  did  not  sleep  for  three  nights  together.  The 
night  before  the  letter  came  from  the  council,  I  could  not  rest, 
I  was  so  full  of  fears  and  troubles;  yea,  at  this  time  I  rould 
not  rest  night  nor  day.  The  next  night  I  was  overjoyed,  Mr 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  53 

Hoar  being  come,  and  that  with  such  good  tidings.  The  third 
night  1  was  even  swallowed  up  with  the  thoughts  of  going 
home  again,  and  that  I  must  leave  my  children  behind  me  in 
the  wilderness ;  so  that  sleep  was  now  almost  departed  fiom 
mine  eyes. 

On  Tuesday  morning  they  called  their  General  Court,  as 
they  styled  it,  to  consult  and  determine  whether  I  should  go 
home  or  no.  And  they  all  seemingly  consented  that  I  should 
go,  except  Philip,  who  would  not  come  among  them. 

But  before  I  go  any  farther,  I  would  take  leave  to  mention 
a  few  remarkable  passages  of  Providence,  which  I  took  spe 
cial  notice  of  in  my  afflicted  time. 

1.  Of  the  fair  opportunity  lost  in   the  long  march,  a  little 
after  the  fort  fight,  when  our  English  army  was  so  numerous, 
and  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  and  so  near  as  to  overtake  seve 
ral  and  destroy  them  ;  and  the  enemy  in  such  distress  for 
food   that   our  men  might  track  them   by  their  rooting  the 
ground  for  ground-nuts,  whilst  they  were  flying  for  their  lives : 
I   say,  that  then  our  army  should  want   provisions,    and  be 
obliged  to  leave  their  pursuit,  and  turn  homeward,  and  the  very 
next  week  the  enemy  came  upon  our  town,  like  bears  bereft  of 
their  whelps,  or  so  many  ravenous  wolves,  rending  us  and  our 
lambs   to  death.      But  what  shall  I   say  ?     God   seemed  to 
leave  his  people  to  themselves,  and  ordered  all  things  for  his 
own  holy  ends.     "  Shall  there  be  evil  in  the  city  and  the  Lord 
hath  not  done  it  ?      They  are  not  grieved  for  the  affliction  of 
Joseph,  therefore  they  shall  go  captive  with  the  first  that  go 
captive.     It  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  should  be  marvellous  in 
our  eyes."" 

2.  I  cannot  but  remember  how  the  Indians  derided  the  slow 
ness  and  the  dulness  of  the  English  army  in   its   setting  out ; 
for  after  the  desolations  at  Lancaster  and  Medfield,  as  I  went 
along  with  them,  they  asked  me  when  I   thought  the   English 
army  would  come  after  them.     I  told  them  I  could  not  tell. 
"  It  may  be  they  will  come   in   May,"  said  they.     Thus  they 
did  scoff  at  us,  as  if  the   English  would  be  a  quarter  of  a 
year  getting  ready. 

3.  Which  also  I  have  hinted  before,  when  the  English  army 
with  new  supplies  were  sent  forth  to  pursue  after  the  enemy, 
and   they,  understanding  it,  fled  before  them  till  they  came  to 
Baquaug  river,  where  they  forthwith  went  over  safely ;  that 
the  river  should  be  impassable  to  the  English.     I  cannot  but 
admire  to  see  the  wonderful  providence  of  God  in  preserving 
the  heathen  for  further  affliction  to  our  poor  country.     They 
could  go  in  great  numbers   over,  but  the   English  must  stop. 
God  had  an  overruling  hand  in  ail  those  things. 


54  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

4.  It  was  thought,  if  their  corn  were  cut  down,  they  would 
starve  and  die  with  hunger  ;  and  all  that  could  be  found   was 
destroyed,  and  they  driven  from  that  little   they  had   in   store 
into  the  woods,  in  the  midst  of  winter  ;  and  yet  how   to  admi 
ration  did  the  Lord  preserve  them  for  his  holy  ends,  and   the 
destruction  of  many  still  among  the  English  !     Strangely  did 
the  Lord  provide  for   them,  that   I  did  not  see,  all  the  time  I 
was  among  them,  one  man,  woman,  or  child  die  with  hunger. 
Though  many  times   they  would  eat  that   that  a  hog  would 
hardly  touch,  yet  by   that  God  strengthened  them  to  he   a 
scourge  to  his  people. 

Their  chief  and  commonest  food  was  ground-nuts  ;  they  eat 
also  nuts  and  acorns,  artichokes,  lilly  roots,  ground  beans,  and 
several  other  weeds  and  roots  that  I  know  not.  They  would 
pick  up  old  bones,  and  cut  them  in  pieces  at  the  joints,  and  if 
they  were  full  of  worms  and  maggots  they  would  scald  them 
over  the  fire,  to  make  the  vermin  come  out,  and  then  boil 
them,  and  drink  up  the  liquor,  and  then  beat  the  great  ends  of 
them  in  a  mortar,  and  so  eat  them.  They  would  eat  horses* 
guts  and  ears,  and  all  sorts  of  wild  birds  which  they  could 
catch;  also  bear,  venison,  beavers,  tortoise,  frogs,  squirrels, 
dogs,  skunks,  rattle-snakes,  yea  the  very  bark  of  trees  ;  be 
sides  all  sorts  of  creatures,  and  provisions  which  they  plun 
dered  from  the  English.  I  can  but  stand  in  admiration  to  see 
the  wonderful  power  of  God,  in  providing  for  such  a  vast 
number  of  our  enemies  in  the  wilderness,  where  there  was 
nothing  to  be  seen  hut  from  hand  to  mouth.  Many  times  in 
the  morning  the  generality  of  them  would  eat  up  all  they  had, 
and  yet  have  some  farther  supply  against  they  wanted.  But 
now  our  perverse  and  evil  carriages  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord 
have  so  offended  him,  that  instead  of  turning  his  hand  against 
them,  the  Lord  feeds  and  nourishes  them  up  to  be  a  scourge 
to  the  whole  land. 

5.  Another  thing  that  I  would  observe  is,  the  strange  provi 
dence  of  God  in  turning  things  about  when  the  Indians  were 
at  the  highest  and  the  English  at  the  lowest.     I  was  with  the 
enemy  eleven  weeks  and  five  days,"*  and  not  one  week  passed 
without  their  fury  and  some  desolation  by  fire  or  sword  upon 
one  place  or  other.     They  mourned  for  their  own  losses,  yet 
triumphed  and  rejoiced  in  their  inhuman  and   devilish  cruelty 
to  the  English.     They  would  boast  much  of  their  victories, 
saying  that  in  two  hours'  time  they  had  destroyed  such  a  cap 
tain  and  his  company,  in  such  a  place ;  and  boast  how  many 
towns  they  had  destroyed,  and  then  scofF  and  say  they  had  done 

*  Viz.  from  Feb.  10  to  May  2d  or  3d. 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  55 

them  a  good  turn  to  send  them  to  heaven  so  soon.  Again  they 
would  say  this  summer  they  would  knock  all  the  rogues  on 
the  head,  or  drive  them  into  the  sea,  or  make  them  fly  the 
country  ;  thinking  surely,  Agag-like,  "  The  bitterness  of  death 
is  passed."  Now  the  heathen  begin  to  think  all  is  their  own  ; 
and  the  poor  Christians'  hopes  fail,  (as  to  man,)  and  now  their 
eyes  are  more  to  God,  and  their  hearts  sigh  heaven-ward,  and 
they  say  in  good  earnest,  "  Help,  Lord,  or  we  perish ."  When 
the  Lord  had  brought  his  people  to  this,  that  they  saw  no  help 
in  any  thing  but  himself  then  he  takes  the  quarrel  into  his 
own  hand ;  and  though  they  made  a  pit  as  deep  as  hell  for 
the  Christians  that  summer,  yet  the  Lord  hurled  themselves 
into  it.  And  the  Lord  had  not  so  many  ways  before  to  pre 
serve  them,  but  now  he  hath  as  many  to  destroy  them. 

But  to  return  again  to  my  going  home  ;  where  we  may  see 
a  remarkable  change  of  providence.  At  first  they  were  all 
against  it,  except  my  husband  would  come  for  me ;  but  after 
ward  they  assented  to  it,  and  seeming  to  rejoice  in  it ;  some 
asking  me  to  send  them  some  bread,  others  some  tobacco,  oth 
ers  shaking  me  by  the  hand,  offering  me  a  hood  and  scarf  to 
ride  in  :  not  one  moving  hand  or  tongue  against  it.  Thus 
hath  the  Lord  answered  my  poor  desires,  and  the  many  ear 
nest  requests  of  others  put  up  unto  God  for  me.  In  my  travels 
an  Indian  came  to  me,  and  told  me  if  I  were  willing  he  and  his 
squaw  would  run  away,  and  go  home  along  with  me.  I  told 
them  no,  I  was  not  willing  to  run  away,  but  desired  to  wait 
God's  time,  that  I  might  go  home  quietly  and  without  fear. 
Arid  now  God  hata  granted  me  my  desire.  O  the  wonderfu? 
power  of  God  that  I  have  seen,  and  the  experiences  that  I 
have  had !  I  have  been  in  the  midst  of  those  roaring  lions 
and  savage  bears,  that  feared  neither  God,  nor  man,  nor  the 
devil,  by  night  and  day,  alone  and  in  company,  sleeping  all 
sorts  together,  and  yet  not  one  of  them  ever  offered  the  least 
abuse  of  unchastity  to  me  in  word  or  action  ;  though  some 
are  ready  to  say  I  speak  it  for  my  own  credit ;  but  I  speak  it 
in  the  presence  of  God,  and  to  his  glory.  God's  power  is  as 
great  now  as  it  was  to  save  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den,  or  the 
three  children  in  the  fiery  furnace.  Especially  that  I  should 
come  away  in  the  midst  of  so  many  hundreds  of  enemies,  and 
not  a  ddfcmove  his  tongue. 

So  I  look  my  leave  of  them,  and  in  coming  along  my  heart 
melted  into  tears  more  than  all  the  while  I  was  with  them, 
and  I  was  almost  swallowed  up  with  the  thoughts  that  ever  I 
should  go  home  again.  About  the  sun's  going  down,  Mr. 
Hoar,  myself,  and  the  two  Indians,  came  to  Lancaster ;  and  a 
solemn  sight  it  was  to  me.  There  had  I  lived  many  comfort- 


56  MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S   CAPTIVITY. 

able  years  nmong  my  relations  and  neighbors,  and  now  not 
one  Christian  to  be  seen,  or  one  house  left  standing.  We 
went  on  to  a  farm-house  that  was  yet  standing,  where  we  lay 
all  night  ;  and  a  comfortable  lodging  we  had,  though  nothing 
but  straw  to  lie  on.  The  Lord  preserved  us  in  safety  that  night, 
raised  us  up  again  in  the  morning,  and  carried  us  along,  that 
before  noon  we  came  to  Concord.  Now  was  I  full  of  joy,  and 
yet  not  without  sorrow :  joy  to  see  such  a  lovely  sight,  so 
many  Christians  together,  and  some  of  them  my  neighbors. 
There  I  met  with  my  brother  and  brother-in-law,^  who  asked 
me  if  I  knew  where  his  wife  was.  Poor  heart !  he  had  helped 
to  bury  her,  and  knew  it  not.  She,  being  shot  down  by  the 
house,  was  partly  burnt ;  so  that  those  who  were  at  Boston  at 
the  desolation  of  the  town  came  back  afterward  and  buried  the 
dead,  but  did  not  know  her.  Yet  I  was  not  without  sorrow, 
to  think  how  many  were  looking  and  longing,  and  my  own 
children  among  the  rest,  to  enjoy  that  deliverance  that  I  had 
now  received  ;  and  I  did  not  know  whether  ever  I  should  see 
them  again. 

Being  recruited  with  food  and  raiment,  we  went  to  Boston 
that  day,  where  I  met  with  my  dear  husband ;  but  the  thoughts 
of  our  dear  children,  one  being  dead,  and  the  other  we  could 
not  tell  where,  abated  our  comfort  in  each  other.  I  was  not 
before  so  much  hemmed  in  by  the  merciless  and  cruel  heathen, 
but  now  as  much  with  pitiful,  tender-hearted,  and  compassion 
ate  Christians.  In  that  poor  and  beggarly  condition,  I  was 
received  in,  I  was  kindly  entertained  in  several  houses.  So 
much  love  I  received  from  several,  (many  of  whom  I  knew 
not,)  that  I  am  not  capable  to  declare  it.  But  the  Lord  knows 
them  all  by  name  ;  the  Lord  reward  them  sevenfold  into  their 
bosoms  of  his  spirituals  for  their  temporals.  The  twenty 
pounds,  the  price  of  my  redemption,  was  raised  by  some  Bos 
ton  gentlewomen,  and  Mr.  Usher,  [Hezekiah  ?]  whose  bounty 
and  charity  I  would  not  forget  to  make  mention  of.  Then 
Mr.  Thomas  Shepard,  of  Charlestown,  received  us  into  his 
house,  where  we  continued  eleven  weeks ;  and  a  father  and 
mother  they  were  unto  us.  And  many  more  tender-hearted 
friends  we  met  with  in  that  place.  We  were  now  in  the 
midst  of  love,  yet  not  without  much  and  frequent  heaviness  of 
heart  for  our  poor  children  and  other  relations  who  ^ere  still 
in  affliction. 

The  week  following,  after  my  coming  in,  the  governor  and 
council  sent  to  the  Indians  again,  and  that  not  without  success ; 
for  they  brought  in  my  sister  and  goodwife  Kettle.  Their  not 

Capt.  Kerley. 


MRS.  ROWLANDSO^  S   CAPTIVITY.  57 

knowing  where  our  children  were  was  a  sore  trial  to  us  still  ; 
and  yet  we  were  not  without  secret  hopes  of  seeing-  them  again. 
That  which  was  dead  lay  heavier  upon  my  spirits  than  those 
which  were  alive  among  the  heathen ;  thinking  how  it  suffered 
with  its  wounds,  and  I  was  not  able  to  relieve  it,  and  how 
it  was  buried  by  the  heathen  in  the  wilderness  from  among  all 
Christians.  We  were  hurried  up  and  down  in  our  thoughts  ; 
sometimes  we  should  hear  a  report  that  they  were  gone  this 
way  and  sometimes  that,  and  that  they  were  come  in  in  this 
place  or  that ;  we  kept  inquiring  and  listening  to  hear  con 
cerning  them,  but  no  certain  news  as  yet.  About  this 
time  the  council  had  ordered  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving, 
though  I  had  still  cause  of  mourning ;  and  being  unsettled  in 
our  minds,  we  thought  we  would  ride  eastward,  to  see  if  we 
could  hear  any  thing  concerning  our  children.  As  we  were 
riding  along  between  Ipswich  and  Rowley,  we  met  with  Wil 
liam  Hubbard,  who  told  us  our  son  Joseph  and  my  sister's  son 
were  come  into  Major  Waldren's.  I  asked  him  how  he  knew 
it.  He  said  the  major  himself  told  him  so.  So  along  we 
went  till  we  came  to  Newbury ;  and  their  minister  being  ab 
sent,  they  desired  my  husband  to  preach  the  thanksgiving  for 
them  ;  but  he  was  not  willing  to  stay  there  that  night,  but  he 
would  go  over  to  Salisbury,  to  hear  farther,  and  come  again  in 
the  morning,  which  he  did,  and  preached  there  that  day.  At 
night,  when  he  had  done,  one  came  and  told  him  that  his 
daughter  was  come  into  Providence.  Here  was  mercy  on 
both  hands.  Now  we  were  between  them,  the  one  on  the 
east,  and  the  other  on  the  west.  Our  son  being  nearest,  we 
went  to  him  first,  to  Portsmouth,  where  we  met  with  him,  and 
with  the  major  also  ;  who  told  us  he  had  done  what  he  could, 
but  could  not  redeem  him  under  seven  pounds,  which  the  good 
people  thereabouts  were  pleased  to  pay.  The  Lord  reward  the 
major,  and  all  the  rest,  though  unknown  to  me,  for  their  labor 
of  love.  My  sister's  son  was  redeemed  for  four  pounds,  which 
the  council  gave  order  for  the  payment  of.  Having  now  re 
ceived  one  of  our  children,  we  hastened  toward  the  other. 
Going  back  through  Newbury,  my  husband  preached  there  on 
the  Sabbath  day,  for  which  they  rewarded  him  manifold. 

On  Monday  we  came  to  Charlestown,  where  we  heard 
that  the  go-^ernor  of  Rhode  Island  had  sent  over  for  our  daugh 
ter,  to  take  care  of  her,  being  now  within  his  jurisdiction , 
which  should  not  pass  without  our  acknowledgments.  Bui 
she  being  nearer  Rehoboth  than  Rhode  Island,  Mr.  Newman 
went  over  and  took  care  of  her,  and  brought  her  to  his  own 
house.  And  the  goodness  of  God  was  admirable  to  us  in  our 
low  estate,  in  that  he  raised  up  compassionate  friends  on  every 


58  MES.  ROWLANBSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

side,  when  we  had  nothing  to  recompense  any  for  their  love. 
The  Indians  were  now  gone  that  way,  that  it  was  apprehend 
ed  dangerous  to  go  to  her  ;  but  the  carts  which  carried  provis 
ion  to  the  English  army,  being  guarded,  brought  her  witn 
them  to  Dorchester,  where  we  received  her  safe.  Blessed  be 
the  Lord  for  it.  Her  coming  in  was  after  this  manner  :  she 
was  travelling  one  day  with  the  Indians,  with  her  basket  at 
her  back  ;  the  company  of  Indians  were  got  before  her,  and 
gone  out  of  sight,  all  except  one  squaw.  She  followed  the 
squaw  till  night,  and  then  both  of  them  lay  down,  having 
nothing  over  them  but  the  heavens,  nor  under  them  but  the 
earth.  Thus  she  travelled  three  days  together,  having  noth 
ing  to  eat  or  drink  but  water  and  green  hirtleberries.  At  last 
they  came  into  Providence,  where  she  was  kindly  entertained 
by  several  of  that  town.  The  Indians  often  said  that  I  should 
never  havre  her  under  twenty  pounds,  but  now  the  Lord  hath 
brought  her  in  upon  free  cost,  and  given  her  to  me  the  second 
time.  The  Lord  make  us  a  blessing  indeed  to  each  other. 
Thus  hath  the  Lord  brought  me  and  mine  out  of  the  horrible 
pit,  and  hath  set  us  in  the  midst  of  tender-hearted  and  com 
passionate  Christians.  'T  is  the  desire  of  my  soul  that  we 
may  walk  worthy  of  the  mercies  received  and  which  we  are 
receiving. 

Our  family  being  now  gathered  together,  the  South  church 
in  Boston  hired  a  house  for  us.  Then  we  removed  from  Mr. 
Shepard's  (those  cordial  friends)  and  went  to  Boston,  where 
we  continued  about  three  quarters  of  a  year.1*  Still  the  Lord 
went  along  with  us,  and  provided  graciously  for  us.  1 
thought  it  somewhat  strange  to  set  up  housekeeping  with  bare 
walls,  but,  as  Solomon  suys,  money  answers  all  things;  and 
this  we  had  through  the  benevolence  of  Christian  friends,  some 
in  this  town,  and  some  in  that,  and  others,  and  some  from 
England,  that  in  a  little  time  we  might  look  and  see  the  house 
furnished  with  love.  The  Lord  hath  been  exceeding  good  to 
us  in  cur  low  estate,  in  that  when  we  had  neither  house  nor 
home,  nor  other  necessaries,  the  Lord  so  moved  the  hearts  of 
these  and  those  towards  us,  that  we  wanted  neither  food  nor 
raiment  for  ourselves  or  ours.  Prov.  18 :  24,  "  There  is  a 
friend  thaf  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother."  AnAdjow  many 
such  friends  have  we  found,  and  now  living  amo^^fts  !  And 
truly  have  we  found  him  to  be  such  a  friend  unlolTs  in  whose 
house  we  lived,  viz.  Mr.  James  Whitcomb,  a  friend  near  hand 
and  far  off. 

I  can  remember  the  time  when  I  used  to  sleep  quietly,  with- 

*  Till  May,  1677. 


MRS.  ROWLANDSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  59 

out  working  in  my  thoughts,  whole  nights  together  ;  but  now 
it  is  otherwise  with  me.  When  all  are  fast  about  me,  and  no 
eye  open,  but  His  who  ever  awaketh,  my  thoughts  are  upon 
things  past,  upon  the  awful  dispensations  of  the  Lord  towards 
us,  upon  his  wonderful  power  and  might  in  carrying  of  us 
through  so  many  difficulties,  in  returning  us  in  safety,  and 
suffering  none  to  hurt  us.  I  remember  in  the  night  season 
how  the  other  day  I  was  in  the  midst  of  thousands  of  enemies, 
and  nothing  but  death  before  me.  It  was  then  hard  work  to  per 
suade  myself  that  ever  I  should  be  satisfied  with  bread  again. 
But  now  we  are  fed  with  the  finest  of  the  wheat,  and,  as  I 
may  say,  with  honey  out  of  the  rock.  Instead  of  the  husks  we 
have  the  fat  calf.  The  thoughts  of  these  things  in  the  partic 
ulars  of  them,  and  of  the  love  and  goodness  of  God  towards 
us,  make  it  true  of  me,  what  David  said  of  himself,  Psal.  6:  6, 
— "  /  water  my  couch  with  my  tears."  O  the  wonderful  power 
of  God  that  mine  eyes  have  seen,  affording  matter  enough 
for  my  thoughts  to  run  in,  that  when  others  are  sleeping  mine 
eyes  are  weeping. 

I  have  seen  the  extreme  vanity  of  this  world.  One  hour  I 
have  been  in  health,  and  wealth,  wanting  nothing,  but  the  next 
hour  in  sickness,  and  wounds,  and  death,  having  nothing  but 
sorrow  and  affliction.  Before  I  knew  what  affliction  meant  I 
was  ready  sometimes  to  wish  for  it.  When  I  lived  in  pros 
perity,  having  the  comforts  of  this  world  about  me,  my  rela 
tions  by  me,  and  my  heart  cheerful,  and  taking  little  care  for 
any  thing,  and  yet  seeing  many,  whom  I  preferred  before  my 
self,  under  many  trials  and  afflictions,  in  sickness,  weakness, 
poverty,  losses,  crosses,  and  cares  of  the  world,  I  should  be 
sometimes  jealous  lest  I  should  have  my  portion  in  this  life. 
But  now  I  see  the  Lord  had  his  time  to  scourge  and  chasten 
me.  The  portion  of  some  is  to  have  their  affliction  by  drops, 
but  the  wine  of  astonishment,  like  a  sweeping  rain  that  leaveth 
no  food,  did  the  Lord  prepare  to  be  my  portion.  Affliction  I 
wanted,  and  affliction  I  had,  full  measure,  pressed  down  and 
running  over.  Yet  I  see  when  God  calls  persons  to  never  so 
many  difficulties,  yet  he  is  able  to  carry  them  through,  and 
make  them  say  they  have  been  gainers  thereby ;  and  I  hope  I 
can  say,  ioiteme  measure,  as  David,  it  is  good  for  me  that  I 
have  been  ^jjkted.  The  Lord  hath  showed  me  the  vanity  of 
these  outward  things,  that  they  are  the  vanities  of  vanities  and 
vexation  of  spirit ;  that  they  are  but  a  shadow,  a  blast,  a  bubble, 
and  things  of  no  continuance.  If  trouble  from  smaller  matter 
begin  to  rise  in  me,  I  have  something  at  hand  to  check  myself 
with,  and  say,  "  Why  am  I  troubled  ?"  It  was  but  the  other 
day  that  if  I  had  the  world  I  would  have  given  it  for  my  free- 


60  STOCKWELL'S   CAPTIVITY. 

dom,  or  to  have  been  a  servant  to  a  Christian.  I  have  learned 
to  look  beyond  present  and  smaller  troubles,  and  to  be  quieted 
under  them,  as  Moses  said,  Exod.  14 :  13, — "  Stand  still  and 
fee  the  salvation  of  the  Lord." 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  OP  QUINTIN  STOCKWELL,  WHO  WAS  TA 
KEN  AT  DEERFIELD,  IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  BY  A  PARTY  OF 
INLAND  INDIANS,  IN  THE  YEAR  1677;  COMMUNICATED  IN 
HIS  OWN  WORDS,  AND  ORIGINALLY  PUBLISHED  BY  THE 
EMINENT  DR.  INCREASE  MATHER,  IN  THE  YEAR  1684. 


A  particular  account  of  the  irruption  in  which  Stockwell  and  others  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Indians  will  be  found  in  the  BOOK  OF  THE  INDIANS, 
Book  iii,  p.  97  and  98.  Out  of  twenty-four  at  that  time  killed  and  taken, 
we  learn  the  names  only  of  these  ;  Quintin  Stockwell,  John  Root,  Sergeant 
Plimpton,  Benjamin  Stebbins,  his  wife,  Benjamin  Waite,  and  Samuel  Rus 
sell.  Plimpton  was  burnt  in  their  cruel  manner.  Root  was  killed,  and 
Stebbins  escaped.  Of  the  others  I  have  learned  nothing. 


IN  the  year  1677,  September  the  19th,  between  sunset  and 
dark,  the  Indians  came  upon  us.  I  and  another  man,  being 
together,  we  ran  away  at  the  outcry  the  Indians  made,  shout 
ing  and  shooting  at  some  others  of  the  English  that  were  hard 
by.  We  took  a  swamp  that  was  at  hand  for  our  refuge  ;  the 
enemy  espying  us  so  near  them,  run  after  us,  and  shot  many 
guns  at  us ;  three  guns  were  discharged  upon  me,  the  enemy 
being  within  three  rods  of  me,  besides  many  others  before  that. 
Being  in  this  swamp,  which  was  miry,  I  slumped  in  and  fell 
down,  whereupon  one  of  the  enemy  stepped  to  me,  with  his 
hatchet  lifted  up  to  knock  me  on  the  head,  supposing  that  I  had 
been  wounded  and  so  unfit  for  any  other  travel.  I,  as  it  hap 
pened,  had  a  pistol  by  me,  which,  though  uncharged,  I  presented 
to  the  Indian,  who  presently  stepped  back,  and  told  me  if  I 
would  yield  I  should  have  no  hurt;  he  said,  which  was  not 
true,  that  they  had  destroyed  all  Hat  field,  ;md  that  the  woods 
were  full  of  Indians,  whereupon  I  yielded  myself,  and  falling 
into  their  hands,  was  by  three  of  them  led  away  unto  the  place 
whence  first  I  began  to  make  my  flight.  Here  two  other  In 
dians  came  running  to  us,  and  the  one  lifting  up  the  butt  end 
of  his  gun,  to  knock  me  on  the  head,  the  other  with  his  hand 
put  by  the  blow,  and  said  I  was  his  friend.  I  was  now  by  my 


STOCKWELL'S  CAPTIVITY.  61 

own  house,  which  the  Indians  burnt  the  last  year,  and  I  was 
about  to  build  up  again ;  and  there  I  had  some  hopes  to  escape 
from  them.  There  was  a  horse  just  by,  which  they  bid  me  take. 
I  did  so,  but  made  no  attempt  to  escape  thereby,  because  the 
enemy  was  near,  and  the  beast  was  slow  and  dull.  Then  was 
I  in  hopes  they  would  send  me  to  take  my  own  horses,  which 
they  did  ;  but  they  were  so  frightened  that  I  could  not  come 
near  to  them,  and  so  fell  still  into  the  enemy's  hands.  They 
now  took  and  bound  me  and  led  me  away,  and  soon  was  I 
brought  into  the  company  of  other  captives,  who  were  that  day 
brought  away  from  Hatfield,  who  were  about  a  mile  off;  and 
here  methought  was  matter  of  joy  and  sorrow  both:  joy  to 
see  company,  and  sorrow  for  our  condition.  Then  were  we 
pinioned  and  led  away  in  the  night  over  the  mountains,  in  dark 
and  hideous  ways,  about  four  miles  further,  before  we  took  up 
our  place  for  rest,  which  was  in  a  dismal  place  of  wood,  on 
the  east  side  of  that  mountain.  We  were  kept  bound  all  that 
night.  The  Indians  kept  waking,  and  we  had  little  mind  to 
sleep  in  this  night's  travel.  The  Indians  dispersed,  and  as  they 
went  made  strange  noises,  as  of  wolves  and  owls,  and  other 
wild  beasts,  to  the  end  that  they  might  not  lose  one  another, 
and  if  followed  they  might  not  be  discovered  by  the  English. 

About  the  break  of  day  we  marched  again,  and  got  over  that 
£reat  river  at  Pecomptuck  [Deerfield]  river  mouth,  and  there 
rested  about  two  hours.  Here  the  Indians  marked  out  upon 
trees  the  number  of  their  captives  and  slain,  as  their  manner 
is.  Now  was  I  again  in  great  danger,  a  quarrel  having  arose 
about  me,  whose  captive  I  was ;  for  three  took  me.  I  thought 
I  must  be  killed  to  end  the  controversy,  so  when  they  put  it  to 
me,  whose  I  was,  I  said  three  Indians  took  me  ;  so  they  agreed 
to  have  all  a  share  in  me.  I  had  now  three  masters,  and  he 
was  my  chief  master  who  laid  hands  on  me  first;  and  thus 
was  I  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  worst  of  all  the  company,  as 
ASHPRLON,  the  Indian  captain,  told  me;  which  captain  was  all 
along  very  kind  to  me,  and  a  great  comfort  to  the  English. 
In  this  place  they  gave  us  some  victuals,  which  they  had  brought 
from  the  English.  This  morning  also  they  sent  ten  men  forth 
to  the  town  [of  Deerfield]  to  bring  away  what  they  could  find. 
Some  provision,  some  corn  out  of  the  meadow,  they  brought  to 
us  on  horsesjjsvhich.  they  had  there  taken. 

From  hence  we  went  up  about  the  falls,  where  we  crossed 
that  river  again ;  and  whilst  I  was  going,  I  fell  right  down  lame 
of  my  old  wounds,  which  I  had  in  the  war,  and  whilst  I  was 
thinking  I  should  therefore  be  killed  by  the  Indians,  and  what 
death  I  should  die,  my  pain  was  suddenly  gone,  and  I  was 
much  encouraged  again.  We  had  about  eleven  horses  in  that 
6 


62  STOCKWELL'S    CAPTIVITY. 

company,  which  the  Indians  used  to  convey  burthens,  and  lo 
carry  women.  It  was  afternoon  when  we  now  crossed  that 
river.  We  travelled  up  it  till  night,  and  then  took  up  our 
lodging  in  a  dismal  place,  and  were  staked  down,  and  spread 
out  on  our  backs  ;  and  so  we  lay  all  night,  yea,  so  we  lay 
many  nights.  They  told  me  their  law  was  that  we  should  lie 
so  nine  nights,  and  by  that  time  it  was  thought  we  should  be 
out  of  our  knowledge.  The  manner  of  staking  down  was 
thus:  our  arms  and  legs,  stretched  out,  were  staked  fast  down, 
and  a  cord  about  our  necks,  so  that  we  could  stir  noways. 
The  first  night  of  staking  down,  being  much  tired,  I  slept  as 
comfortable  as  ever.  The  next  day  we  went  up  the  river,  and 
crossed  it,  and  at  night  lay  in  Squakheag  [Northfleld]  meadows. 
Our  provision  was  soon  spent,  and  while  we  lay  in  those  mea 
dows  the  Indians  went  a  hunting,  and  the  English  army  came 
out  after  us.  Then  the  Indians  moved  again,  dividing  them 
selves  and  the  captives  into  many  companies,  that  the  English 
might  not  follow  their  tracks.  At  night,  having  crossed  the 
river,  we  met  again  at  the  place  appointed.  The  next  day  we 
crossed  it  again  on  Squakheag  side,  and  there,  we  took  up  our 
quarters  for  a  long  time.  I  suppose  this  might  be  about  thirty 
miles  above  Squakheag;  and  here  were  the  Indians  quite  out 
of  all  fear  of  the  English,  but  in  great  fear  of  the  Mohawks. 
Here  they  built  a  long  wigwam,  and  had  a  great  dance,  as  they 
call  it,  and  concluded  to  hum  three  of  us,  and  had  got  bark  to 
do  it  with,  and,  as  I  understood  afterwards,  I  wos  one  that  was 
to  he  burnt,  sergeant  Plimpton  another,  and  Benjamin  Waiie's 
wife  the  third.  Though  I  knew  not  which  was  to  be  burnt, 
yet  I  perceived  some  were  designed  thereunto  ;  so  much  I  un 
derstood  of  their  language.  That  night  I  could  not  sleep  for 
fear  of  next  day's  work;  the  Indians,  being  weary  with  the 
dance,  lay  down  to  sleep,  and  slept  soundly.  The  English 
were  all  loose  ;  then  I  went  out  and  brought  in  wood,  and 
mended  the  fire,  and  made  a  noise  on  purpose,  but  none  awak 
ed.  I  thought  if  any  of  the  English  would  awake,  we  muilit 
kill  them  all  sleeping.  I  removed  out  of  the  way  all  the  guns 
and  hatchets,  hut  my  heart  failing  me,  I  put  al!  things  where 
they  were  again.  The  next  day,  when  we  were  to  be  burnt, 
our  master  and  some  others  spoke  for  us,  and  the  evil  w;i- 
vented  in  this  phce.  Hereabouts  we  lay  three  vBks  toge'iiir>r. 
Here  I  had  a  shirt  brought  to  me  to  make,  and  ofTe  Indian  sniJ 
it  should  be  made  ibis  way,  a  second  another  wray,  a  third  his 
way.  I  told  them  I  would  make  it  that  way  my  chief  m:i?rer 
said  ;  whereupon  one  Indian  struck  me  on  the  face  with  bib 
fist.  I  suddenly  rose  up  in  anger,  ready  to  strike  again  ;  upon 
this  happened  a  great  hubbub,  and  tiic  Indians  ai  d  English 


STOCKWELL'S  CAPTIVITY.  63 

came  about  me.  I  was  fain  to  humble  myself  to  my  master, 
so  that  matter  was  put  up.  Before  I  came  to  this  place,  my 
three  masters  were  gone  a  hunting;  I  was  left  with  another 
Indian,  all  the  company  being  upon  a  march;  I  was  left  with 
this  Indian,  who  fell  sick,  so  that  I  was  fain  to  carry  his  gun 
and  hatchet,  and  had  opportunity,  and  had  thought  to  have 
dispatched  him  and  run  away  ;  but  did  not,  for  that  the  English 
captives  had  promised  the  contrary  to  one  another  ;  because,  if 
one  should  run  away,  that  would  provoke  the  Indians,  and 
endanger  the  rest  that  could  not  run  away. 

Whilst  we  were  here,  Benjamin  Stebbins,  going  with  some 
Indians  to  Wachuset  Hills,  made  his  escape  from  them,  and 
when  the  news  of  his  escape  came  we  v/ere  all  presently  called 
in  and  bound ;  one  of  the  Indians,  a  captain  among  them, 
and  always  our  great  friend,  met  me  coming  in,  and  told  me 
Stebbins  was  run  away  ;  and  the  Indians  spake  of  burning 
us;  some,  of  only  burning  and  biting  off  our  fingers,  by  anid 
by.  He  said  there  would  be  a  court,  and  all  would  speak  their 
minds,  but  he  would  speak  last,  and  would  say,  that  the  Indian 
who  let  Stehbins  run  away  was  only  in  fault,  and  so  no  hurt 
should  he  done  us,  and  added,  "  fear  not ,"  so  it  proved  accor 
dingly.  Whilst  we  lingered  hereabout,  provision  grew  scarce ; 
one  bear's  foot  must  serve  five  of  us  a  whole  day.  We  began 
to  eat  horse-flesh,  and  eat  up  seven  in  all  ;  three  were  left  alive, 
and  not  killed.  After  we  had  been  here,  some  of  the  Indians 
hud  been  down,  and  fallen  upon  Hadley,  and  were  taken  by 
the  English,  agreed  with  and  let  go  again.  They  were  to  meet 
the  English  upon  such  a  plain,  there  to  make  further  terms. 
ASHPALON  was  much  for  it,  but  Wachuset  sachems,  when  they 
came,  were  much  against  it,  and  were  for  this :  that  we  should 
meet  the  English,  indeed,  but  there  fall  upon  them  and  fight 
them,  and  take  them.  Then  ASHPELON  spake  to  us  English, 
not  to  speak  M  word  more  to  further  that  matter,  for  misrhief 
would  c.ome  of  it.  When  those  Indians  came  from  Wachuset 
there  came  with  them  squaws  and  children,  about  four-score, 
who  reported  that  the  English  had  taken  UNCAS,  and  all  his 
men,  and  sent  them  beyond  seas.  They  were  much  enraged 
at  this,  and  asked  us  if  it  were  true;  we  said  no.  Then  was 
ASHPALON  angry,  and  said  he  would  no  more  believe  English 
men.  TWjjjr  examined  us  everyone  apart,  and  then  they  dealt 
worse  with  us  for  a  season  than  before.  Still  provision  was 
scarce.  We  came  at  length  to  a  place  called  Sqnaw-Maug  river; 
there  we  hoped  for  salmon  ;  but  we  came  too  late.  This  place 
I  account  to  be  above  two  hundred  miles  above  Deeriield.  We 
now  parted  into  two  companies  ;  some  went  one  way,  and  some 
went  another  way ;  and  we  went  over  a  mighty  mountain,  it 


64  STOCKWELL'S  CAPTIVITY. 

taking  us  eight  days  to  go  over  it,  and  travelled  very  hard  too, 
having  every  day  either  snow  or  rain.  We  noted  that  on  this 
mountain  all  the  water  run  northward.  Here  also  we  wanted 
provision ;  but  at  length  we  met  again  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain,  viz.  on  the  north  side,  at  a  river  that  runs  into  the 
lake ;  and  we  were  then  half  a  day's  journey  off  the  lake. 

We  staid  here  a  great  while,  to  make  canoes  to  go  over  the 
lake.  Here  I  was  frozen,  and  again  we  were  like  to  starve. 
All  the  Indians  went  a  hunting,  but  could  get  nothing:  divers 
days  they  powwowed,  and  yet  got  nothing;  then  they  desired 
the  English  to  pray,  and  confessed  they  could  do  nothing ;  they 
would  have  us  pray,  and  see  what  the  Englishman's  God  could 
do.  I  prayed,  so  did  sergeant  Plimpton,  in  another  place. 
The  Indians  reverently  attended,  morning  and  night.  Next 
day  they  got  bears  ;  then  they  would  needs  have  us  desire  a 
blessing,  and  return  thanks  at  meals ;  after  a  while  they  grew 
weary  of  it,  and  the  sachem  did  forbid  us.  When  I  was  fro 
zen,  they  were  very  cruel  towards  me,  because  I  could  not  do 
as  at  other  times.  When  we  came  to  the  lake  we  were  again 
sadly  put  to  it  for  provision.  We  were  fain  to  eat  touchwood 
fried  in  bear's  grease.  At  last  we  found  a  company  of  raccoons, 
and  then  we  made  a  feast;  and  the  manner  was  that  we  must 
eat  all.  I  perceived  there  would  be  too  much  for  one  time,  so 
one  Indian  who  sat  next  to  me  bid  me  slip  away  some  to  him 
under  his  coat,  and  he  would  hide  it  for  me  till  another  time. 
This  Indian,  as  soon  as  he  had  got  my  meat,  stood  up  and 
made  a  speech  to  the  rest,  and  discovered  me ;  so  that  the  In 
dians  were  very  angry  and  cut  me  another  piece,  and  gave  me 
raccoon  grease  to  drink,  which  made  me  sick  and  vomit.  I 
told  them  I  had  enough ;  so  ever  after  that  they  would  give 
me  none,  but  still  tell  me  I  had  raccoon  enough.  So  I  suffer 
ed  much,  and  being  frozen,  was  full  of  pain,  and  could  sleep 
but  a  little,  yet  must  do  my  work.  When  they  went  upon  the 
lake,  and  as  they  came  to  it,  they  lit  of  a  moose  and  killed  it, 
and  staid  there  till  they  had  eaten  it  all  up. 

After  entering  upon  the  lake,  there  arose  a  great  storm,  and 
we  thought  we  should  all  be  cast  away,  but  at  last  we  got  to 
an  island,  and  there  they  went  to  powwowing.  The  powwow 
said  that  Benjamin  Waite  and  another  man  was  coming,  and 
that  storm  was  raised  to  cast  them  away.  This  afterward  ap 
peared  to  be  true,  though  then  I  believed  them  not.  Upon  this 
island  we  lay  still  several  days,  and  then  set  out  again,  but  a 
storm  took  us,  so  that  we  lay  to  and  fro,  upon  certain  islands, 
about  three  weeks.  We  had  no  provision  but  raccoons,  so  that 
the  Indians  themselves  thought  they  should  be  starved.  They 
gave  me  nothing,  so  that  I  was  sundry  days  without  any  pro- 


STOCKWELL'S  CAPTIVITY.  65 

vision.  We  went  on  upon  the  lake,  upon  that  isle,  about  a 
day's  journey.  We  had  a  little  sled  upon  which  we  drew  our 
load.  Before  noon,  I  tired,  and  just  then  the  Indians  met  with 
some  Frenchmen  ;  then  one  of  the  Indians  that  took  me  came 
to  me  and  called  me  all  manner  of  bad  names,  and  threw  me 
down  upon  my  back.  I  told  him  I  could  not  do  any  more ;  then 
he  said  he  must  kill  me.  I  thought  he  was  about  to  do  it, 
for  he  pulled  out  his  knife  and  cut  out  my  pockets,  and  wrap 
ped  them,  about  my  face,  helped  me  up,  and  took  my  sled  and 
went  away,  giving  me  a  bit  of  biscuit,  as  big  as  a  walnut, 
which  he  had  of  the  Frenchman,  and  told  me  he  would  give 
me  a  pipe  of  tobacco.  When  my  sled  was  gone,  I  could  run 
after  him,  but  at  last  I  could  not  run,  but  went  a  foot-pace. 
The  Indians  were  soon  out  of  sight.  I  followed  as  well  as  I 
could,  and  had  many  falls  upon  the  ice. 

At  last,  I  was  so  spent,  I  had  not  strength  enough  to  rise 
again,  but  I  crept  to  a  tree  that  lay  along,  and  got  upon  it, 
and  there  I  lay.  It  was  now  night,  and  very  sharp  weather  : 
I  counted  no  other  but  that  I  must  die  here.  Whilst  I  was 
thinking  of  death,  an  Indian  hallooed,  and  I  answered  him  ; 
he  came  to  me,  and  called  me  bad  names,  and  told  me  if  I 
could  not  go  he  must  knock  me  on  the  head.  I  told  him  he 
must  then  do  so ;  he  saw  how  I  had  wallowed  in  the  snow, 
but  could  not  rise  ;  then  he  took  his  coat  and  wrapt  me  in  it, 
and  went  back  and  sent  two  Indians  with  a  sled.  One  said 
he  must  knock  me  on  the  head,  the  other  said  no,  they  would 
carry  me  away  and  burn  me.  Then  they  bid  me  stir  my  in 
step,  to  see  if  that  were  frozen ;  I  did  so.  When  they  saw 
that,  they  said  that  was  WURREGEN.^  There  was  a  chirur- 
geon  among  the  French,  they  said,  that  could  cure  me ;  then 
they  took  me  upon  a  sled,  and  carried  me  to  the  fire,  and  made 
much  of  me ;  pulled  off  my  wet  and  wrapped  me  in  dry 
clothes,  and  made  me  a  good  bed.  They  had  killed  an  otter, 
and  gave  me  some  of  the  broth  made  of  it,  and  a  bit  of  the 
flesh.  Here  I  slept  till  towards  day,  and  then  was  able  to  get 
up  and  put  on  my  clothes.  One  of  the  Indians  awaked,  and 
seeing  me  walk,  shouted,  as  rejoicing  at  it.  As  soon  as  it  was 
light,  I  and  Samuel  Russell  went  before  on  the  ice,  upon  a  river. 
They  said  I  must  go  where  I  could  on  foot,  else  I  should 
freeze.  Samuel  Russell  slipt  into  the  river  with  one  foot ;  the 
Indians  called  him  back,  and  dried  his  stockings,  and  then  sent 
us  away,  and  an  Indian  with  us  to  pilot  us.  We  went  four  or 
five  miles  before  they  overtook  us.  I  was  then  pretty  well 
spent.  Samuel  Russell  was,  he  said,  faint,  and  wondered  how  I 

*  See  Book  of  the  Indians,  B.  ii.  85. 
5 


66  STOCKWELL'S  CAPTIVITY. 

could  live,  for  he  had,  he  said,  ten  meals  to  my  one.  Then 
I  was  laid  on  the  sled,  and  they  ran  away  with  me  on  the  ice ; 
the  rest  and  Samuel  Russell  came  softly  after.  Samuel  Russell 
I  never  saw  more,  nor  know  I  what  became  of  him.  They 
got  but  half  way,  and  we  got  through  to  Shamblee  about  mid 
night.  Six  miles  off  Shamblee,  (a  French  town,)  the  river  was 
open,  and  when  I  came  to  travel  in  that  part  of  the  ice,  I  soon 
tired ;  and  two  Indians  ran  away  to  town,  and  one  only  was 
left ;  he  would  carry  me  a  few  rods,  and  then  I  would  go 
as  many,  and  then  a  trade  we  drove,  and  so  were  long  in 
going  the  six  miles.  This  Indian  was  now  kind,  and  told  me 
that  if  he  did  not  carry  me  I  would  die,  and  so  I  should  have 
done,  sure  enough ;  and  he  said  I  must  tell  the  English  how 
he  helped  me.  When  we  came  to  the  first  house,  there  was 
no  inhabitant.  The  Indian  was  also  spent,  and  both  were  dis 
couraged  ;  he  said  we  must  now  die  together.  At  last  he  left 
me  alone,  and  got  to  another  house,  and  thence  came  some 
French  and  Indians,  and  brought  me  in.  The  French  were 
kind,  and  put  my  hands  and  feet  in  cold  water,  and  gave  me 
a  dram  of  brandy,  and  a  little  hasty  pudding  and  milk ;  when 
I  tasted  victuals  I  wTas  hungry,  and  could  not  have  forborne  it, 
but  I  could  not  get  it.  Now  and  then  they  would  give  me  a 
little,  as  they  thought  best  for  me.  I  la  id  "by  the  fire  with  the 
Indian  that  night,  but  could  not  sleep  for  pain.  Next  morn 
ing  the  Indians  and  French  fell  out  about  me,  because  the 
French,  as  the  Indians  said,  loved  the  English  better  than  the 
Indians.  The  French  presently  turned  the  Indians  out  of 
doors,  and  kept  me. 

They  were  very  kind  and  careful,  and  gave  me  a  little 
something  now  and  then.  While  I  was  here  all  the  men  in 
that  town  came  to  see  me.  At  this  house  I  was  three  or  four 
days,  and  then  invited  to  another,  and  after  that  to  another. 
In  this  place  I  was  about  thirteen  days,  and  received  much 
civility  from  a  young  man,  a  bachelor,  who  invited  me  to  his 
house,  with  whom  I  was  for  the  most  part  of  the  time.  He 
was  so  kind  as  to  lodge  me  in  the  bed  wi.th  himself,  gave  me  a 
shirt,  and  would  have  bought  me,  but  could  not,  as  the  Indians 
asked  one  hundred  pounds  for  me.  We  were  then  to  go  to  a 
place  called  Sorel,  and  that  young  man  would  go  with  me,  be 
cause  the  Indians  should  not  hurt  me.  This  man  carried  me 
on  the  ice  one  day's  journey,  for  I  could  not  now  go  at  all,  and 
there  was  so  much  water  on  the  ice  we  could  go  no  further. 
So  the  Frenchman  left  me,  and  provision  for  me.  Here  we 
staid  two  nights,  and  then  travelled  again,  for  now  the  ice  was 
strong,  and  in  two  days  more  we  come  to  Sorel.  When  we 
got  to  the  first  house,  it  was  late  in  the  night ;  and  here  again 


STOCKWELL'S  CAPTIVITY.  67 

the  people  were  kind.  Next  day,  being  in  much  pain,  I  asked 
the  Indians  to  carry  me  to  the  chirurgeons,  as  they  had  promised, 
at  which  they  were  wroth,  and  one  of  them  took  up  his  gun 
to  knock  me,  but  the  Frenchman  would  not  suffer  it,  but  set 
upon  him  and  kicked  him  out  of  doors.  Then  we  went  away 
from  thence,  to  a  place  two  or  three  miles  off,  where  the 
Indians  had  wigwams.  When  I  came  to  these  wigwams  some 
of  the  Indians  knew  me,  and  seemed  to  pity  me. 

While  I  was  here,  which  was  three  or  four  days,  the  French 
came  to  see  me  ;  and  it  being  Christmas  time,  they  brought 
cakes  and  other  provisions  with  them  and  gave  to  me,  so  that 
I  had  no  want.  The  Indians  tried  to  cure  me,  but  could  not. 
Then  I  asked  for  the  chirurgeon,  at  which  one  of  the  Indians 
in  anger  struck  me  on  the  face  with  his  fist.  A  Frenchman 
being  by,  spoke  to  him,  but  I  knew  not  what  he  said,  and  then 
went  his  way.  By  and  by  came  the  captain  of  the  place  into 
the  wigwam,  with  about  twelve  armed  men,  and  asked  where 
the  Indian  was  that  struck  the  Englishman.  They  took  him 
and  told  him  he  should  go  to  the  bilboes,  and  then  be  hanged. 
The  Indians  were  much  terrified  at  this,  as  appeared  by  their 
countenances  and  trembling.  I  would  have  gone  too,  but  the 
Frenchman  bid  me  not  fear  ;  that  the  Indians  durst  not  hurt  me. 
When  that  Indian  was  gone,  I  had  two  masters  still.  I  asked 
them  to  carry  me  to  that  captain,  that  I  might  speak  for  the 
Indian.  They  answered,  "  You  are  a  fool.  Do  you  think  the 
French  are  like  the  English,  to  say  one  thing  and  do  another? 
They  are  men  of  their  words."  I  prevailed  with  them,  how 
ever,  to  help  me  thither,  and  I  spoke  to  the  captain  by  an 
interpreter,  arid  told  him  I  desired  him  to  set  the  Indian  free, 
and  told  him  what  he  had  done  for  me.  He  told  me  he  was  a 
rogue,  and  should  be  hanged.  Then  I  spoke  more  privately, 
alleging  this  reason,  that  because  all  the  English  captives 
were  not  come  in,  if  he  were  hanged,  it  might  fare  the  worse 
with  them.  The  captain  said  "  that  was  to  be  considered," 
Then  he  set  him  at  liberty  upon  this  condition,  that  he  should 
never  strike  me  more,  and  every  day  bring  me  to  his  house  to 
eat  victuals.  I  perceived  that  the  common  people  did  not  like 
what  the  Indians  had  done  and  did  to  the  English.  When 
the  Indian  was  set  free,  he  came  to  me,  and  took  me  about  the 
middle,  and  said  I  was  his  brother;  that  I  had  saved  his  life 
once,  and  he  had  saved  mine  thrice.  Then  he  called  for 
brandy  and  made  me  drink,  and  had  me  away  to  the  wigwams 
again.  When  I  came  there,  the  Indians  came  to  me  one 
one,  to  shake  hands  with  me,  saying  WUKREGEN  NETOP,*  an 

*  Friend,  it  is  well. — Ed. 


68  SARAH  GERISH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

were  very  kind,  thinking  no  other  but  that  I  had  saved  th 
Indian's  life. 

The  next  day  he  carried  me  to  that  captain's  house,  and 
set  me  down.^  They  gave  me  my  victuals  and  wine,  and 
being  left  there  a  while  by  the  Indians,  I  showed  the  captain 
my  ringers,  which  when  he  and  his  wife  saw  they  ran  away 
from  the  sight,  and  bid  me  lap  it  up  again,  and  sent  for  the 
chirurgeon  ;  who,  when  he  came,  said  he  could  cure  me,  and 
took  it  in  hand,  and  dressed  it.  The  Indians  towards  night 
came  for  me  ;  I  told  them  I  could  not  go  with  them.  They 
were  displeased,  called  me  rogue,  and  went  away.  That 
night  I  was  full  of  pain  ;  the  French  feared  that  I  would  die  ; 
five  men  did  watch  with  me,  and  strove  to  keep  me  cheerly, 
for  I  was  sometimes  ready  to  faint.  Oftentimes  they  gave  me 
a  little  brandy.  The  next  day  the  chirurgeon  came  again, 
and  dressed  me ;  and  so  he  did  all  the  while  I  was  among  the 
French.  I  came  in  at  Christmas,  and  went  thence  May  2d. 

Being  thus  in  the  captain's  house,  I  was  kept  there  till 
Benjamin  Waite  came ;  and  now  my  Indian  master,  being  in 
want  of  money,  pawned  me  to  the  captain  for  fourteen  bea 
vers'  skins,  or  the  worth  of  them,  at  such  a  day  ;  if  he  did  not 
pay  he  must  lose  his  pawn,  or  else  sell  me  for  twenty-one  bea 
vers,  but  he  could  not  get  beaver,  and  so  I  was  sold.  By  being 
thus  sold,  adds  Dr.  Mather,  he  was  in  God's  good  time  set  at 
liberty,  and  returned  to  his  friends  in  New  England  again. 


NARRATIVE 

OP  THE  CAPTIVITY  AND  SUFFERINGS  OF  MISS  SARAH  GER- 
ISH,  WHO  WAS  TAKEN  AT  THE  SACKING  OF  DOVER,  IN 
THE  YEAR  16S9,  BY  THE  INDIANS;  AS  COMMUNICATED  TO 
THE  REVEREND  DR.  COTTON  MATHER,  BY  THE  REVEREND 
JOHN  PIKE,  MINISTER  OF  DOVER. 

SARAH  GERISH,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Gerish,  of  Quo- 
checho  or  Cocheco,  was  a  very  beautiful  and  ingenious  damsel, 
about  seven  years  of  age,  and  happened  to  be  lodging  at  the 
garrison  of  Major  Waldron,  her  affectiono.e  grandfather,  when 
the  Indians  brought  that  horrible  destruction  upon  it,  on  the 

*  His  feet  were  so  badly  frozen  that  he  b^d  not  walked  for  a  conside 
rable  time.— Ed 


SARAH  GE RISK'S  CAPTIVITY.  69 

night  of  the  27th  of  June,  1689.  She  was  always  very  fear 
ful  of  the  Indians  ;  but  fear  may  we  think  now  surprised  her, 
when  they  fiercely  bid  her  go  into  a  certain  chamber  and  call 
the  people  out !  She  obeyed,  but  finding  only  a  little  child  in 
bed  in  the  room,  she  got  into  the  bed  with  it,  and  hid  herself 
in  the  clothes  as  well  as  she  could.  The  fell  savages  quickly 
pulled  her  out,  and  made  her  dress  for  a  march,  but  led  her 
away  with  no  more  than  one  stocking  upon  her,  on  a  terrible 
march  through  the  thick  woods,  and  a  thousand  other  miseries, 
till  they  came  to  the  Norway  Planes.^  From  thence  they 
made  her  go  to  the  end  of  VVinnipisiogee  lake,  thence  east 
ward,  through  horrid  swamps,  where  sometimes  they  were 
obliged  to  scramble  over  huge  trees  fallen  by  storm  or  age,  for 
a  vast  way  together,  and  sometimes  they  must  climb  up  long, 
steep,  tiresome,  and  almost  inaccessible  mountains. 

Her  first  master  was  an  Indian  named  Sebundowit,  a  dull 
sort  of  fellow,  and  not  such  a  devil  as  many  of  them  were, 
but  he  sold  her  to  a  fellow  who  was  a  more  harsh  and  mad 
sort  of  a  dragon.  He  carried  her  away  to  Canada. 

A  long  and  sad  journey  now  ensued,  through  the  midst  of  a 
hideous  desert,  in  the  depth  of  a  dreadful  winter ;  and  who 
can  enumerate  the  frights  she  endured  before  the  end  of  her 
journey  ?  Once  her  master  commanded  her  to  loosen  some  of 
her  upper  garments,  and  stand  against  a  tree  while  he  charged 
his  gun  ;  whereat  the  poor  child  shrieked  out,  "  He  is  going  to 
kill  me  !"  God  knows  what  he  was  going  to  do ;  but  the  villian 
having  charged  his  gun,  he  called  her  from  the  tree  and  for 
bore  doing  her  any  damage.  Upon  another  time  her  master 
ordered  her  to  run  along  the  shore  with  some  Indian  girls> 
while  he  paddled  up  the  river  in  his  canoe.  As  the  girls  were 
passing  a  precipice,  a  tawny  wench  violently  pushed  her  head 
long  into  the  river,  but  so  it  fell  out  that  in  this  very  place  of 
her  fall  the  bushes  from  the  shore  hung  over  the  water,  so 
that  she  was  enabled  to  get  hold  of  them,  and  thus  saved  her 
self.  The  Indians  asked  her  how  she  became  so  wet,  but  she 
did  not  dare  to  tell  them,  from  fear  of  the  resentment  of  hei 
that  had  so  nearly  deprived  her  of  life  already.  And  here  it 
may  be  remarked,  that  it  is  almost  universally  true,  that  young 
Indians,  both  male  and  female,  are  as  much  to  be  dreaded  by 
captives  as  those  of  maturer  years,  and  in  many  cases  much 
more  so ;  for,  unlike  cultivated  people,  they  have  no  restraints 
upon  their  mischievous  and  savage  propensities,  which  they 
indulge  in  cruelties  surpassing  any  examples  here  related. 
They  often  vie  with  each  other  in  attempting  excessive  acts  of 
torture. 

*  These  planes  are  in  the  present  town  of  Rochester,  N.  H, — Editor. 


^T 


70  SARAH  GERISH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

Once,  being  spent  with  travelling  all  day,  and  lying  down 
wet  and  exhausted  at  night,  she  fell  into  so  profound  a  sleep 
that  in  the  morning  she  waked  not.  Her  barbarous  captors 
decamped  from  the  place  of  their  night's  rest,  leaving  this  little 
captive  girl  asleep  and  covered  with  a  snow  that  in  the  night 
had  fallen  ;  but,  at  length  awaking,  what  agonies  may  you 
imagine  she  was  in,  on  finding  herself  left  a  prey  for  bears  and 
wolves,  and  without  any  sustenance,  in  a  howling  wilderness, 
many  scores  of  leagues  from  any  plantation  !  In  this  dismal 
situation,  however,  she  had  fortitude  sufficient  to  attempt  to 
fojjow  them.  And  here  again,  the  snow  which  had  been  her 
covering  upon  the  cold  ground,  to  her  great  discomfort,  was 
now  her  only  hope,  for  she  could  just  discern  by  it  the  trace 
of  the  Indians  !  How  long  it  was  before  she  overtook  them 
is  not  told  us,  but  she  joined  them  and  continued  her  captivity. 

Now  the  young  Indians  began  to  terrify  her  by  constantly 
reminding  her  that  she  was  shortly  to  be  roasted  to  death. 
One  evening  much  fuel  was  prepared  between  two  logs,  which 
they  told  her  was  for  her  torture.  A  mighty  fire  being  made, 
her  master  called  her  to  him,  and  told  her  that  she  should 
presently  be  burnt  alive.  At  first  she  stood  amazed;  then 
burst  into  tears  ;  and  then  she  hung  about  her  tiger  of  a  master, 
begging  of  him,  with  an  inexpressible  anguish,  to  save  her 
from  the  fire.  Hereupon  the  monster  so  far  relented  as  to  tell 
her  "  that  if  she  would  be  a  good  girl  she  should  not  be  burnt." 

At  last  they  arrived  at  Canada,  and  she  was  carried  into 
the  Lord  Intendant's  house,  where  many  persons  of  quality 
took  much  notice  of  her.  It  was  a  week  after  this  that  she 
remained  in  the  Indian's  hands  before  the  price  of  her  ransom 
could  be  agreed  upon.  But  then  the  lady  intendant  sent  her 
to  the  nunnery,  where  she  was  comfortably  provided  for  ;  and 
it  was  the  design,  as  was  said,  for  to  have  brought  her  up  in 
the  Romish  religion,  and  then  to  have  married  her  unto  the 
son  of  the  Lord  Intendant. 

She  was  kindly  used  there  until  Sir  William  Phips,  lying 
before  Quebec,  did,  upon  exchange  of  prisoners,  obtain  her  lib 
erty.  After  sixteen  months'  captivity  she  was  restored  unto 
her  friends,  who  had  the  consolation  of  having  this  their  desir 
able  daughter  again  with  them,  returned  as  it  were  from  the 
dead.  But  this  dear  child  was  not  to  cheer  her  parents'  path 
for  a  long  period ;  for  on  arriving  at  her  sixteenth  year,  July 
1697,  death  carried  her  off  by  a  malignant  fev— 


ELIZABETH  HEARD'S  CAPTIVITY.  71 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  REMARKABLE  ESCAPE  OP  WIDOW  ELIZABETH  HEARD, 
ALSO  TAKEN  AT  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  MAJOR  WALDRON'S 
GARRISON  IN  DOVER,  AS  COMMUNICATED  TO  DOCTOR  COT 
TON  MATHER,  BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  PIKE,  MINISTER  OF  THE 
PLACE. 

MRS.  ELIZABETH  HEARD  was  a  widow  of  good  estate,  a  mother 
of  many  children,  and  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Hull,  a  reverend 
minister  formerly  living  at  Pascataqua,  but  at  this  time  lived 
at  Quochecho,  the  Indian  name  of  Dover.  Happening  to  be 
at  Portsmouth  on  the  day  before  Quochecho  was  cut  off,  she 
returned  thither  in  the  night  with  one  daughter  and  three  sons, 
all  masters  of  families.  When  they  came  near  Quochecho 
they  were  astonished  with  a  prodigious  noise  of  Indians,  howl 
ing,  shooting,  shouting,  and  roaring,  according  to  their  manner 
in  making  an  assault. 

Their  distress  for  their  families  carried  them  still  further 
up  the  river,  till  they  secretly  and  silently  passed  by  some 
numbers  of  the  raging  savages.  They  landed  about  an  hun 
dred  rods  from  Major  Waldron's  garrison,  and  running  up 
the  hill,  they  saw  many  lights  in  the  windows  of  the  garrison, 
which  they  concluded  the  English  within  had  set  up  for  the 
direction  of  those  who  might  seek  a  refuge  there.  Coming 
to  the  gate,  they  desired  entrance,  which  not  being  readily 
granted,  they  called  earnestly,  bounced,  knocked,  and  cried 
cut  to  those  within  of  their  unkindness,  that  they  would  not 
open  the  gate  to  them  in  this  extremity. 

No  answer  being  yet  made,  they  began  to  doubt  whether  all 
was  well.  One  of  the  young  men  then  climbing  up  the  wall, 
saw  a  horrible  tawny  in  the  entry,  with  a  gun  in  his  hand.  A 
grievous  consternation  seized  now  upon  them,  and  Mrs.  Heard, 
sitting  down  without  the  gate,  through  despair  and  faintness, 
was  unable  to  stir  any  further;  but  had  strength  only  to 
charge  her  children  to  shift  for  themselves,  which  she  did  in 
broken  accents  ;  adding  also  that  she  must  unavoidably  there 
end  her  days. 

Her  children,  finding  it  impossible  to  carry  her  with  ihem, 
with  heavy  hearts  forsook  her.  Immediately  after,  however, 
she  beginning  to  recover  from  her  fright,  was  able  to  fly,  and 
hide  herself  in  a  bunch  of  barberry  bushes,  in  the  garden  ;  and 


72  ELIZABETH  HEARD'S  CAPTIVITY. 

then  hastening  from  thence,  because  the  daylight  advanced, 
she  sheltered  herself,  though  seen  by  two  of  the  Indians,  in  a 
thicket  of  other  bushes,  about  thirty  rods  from  the  house. 
She  had  not  been  long  here  before  an  Indian  came  towards 
her,  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand.  The  fellow  came  up  to  her 
and  stared  her  in  the  face,  but  said  nothing  to  her,  nor  she  to 
him.  He  went  a  little  way  back,  and  came  again,  and  stared 
upon  her  as  before,  but  said  nothing ;  whereupon  she  asked 
him  what  he  would  have.  He  still  said  nothing,  but  went 
away  to  the  house,  whooping,  and  returned  unto  her  no  more. 

Being  thus  unaccountably  preserved,  she  made  several 
essays  to  pass  the  river,  but  found  herself  unable  to  do  it,  and 
finding  all  places  on  that  side  of  the  river  filled  with  blood 
and  fire,  and  hideous  outcries,  she  thereupon  returned  to  her 
old  bush,  and  there  poured  out  her  ardent  prayers  to  God  for 
help  in  this  distress. 

She  continued  in  this  bush  until  the  garrison  was  burnt, 
and  the  enemy  had  gone,  and  then  she  stole  along  by  the  river 
side,  until  she  came  to  a  boom,  on  which  she  passed  over. 
Many  sad  effects  of  cruelty  she  saw  left  by  the  Indians  in  her 
way.  She  soon  after  safely  arrived  at  Captain  Gerish's  gar 
rison,  where  she  found  a  refuge  from  the  storm.  Here  she 
also  had  the  satisfaction  to  understand  that  her  own  garrison, 
though  one  of  the  first  that  was  assaulted,  had  been  bravely 
defended,  and  successfully  maintained  against  the  adversary. 

This  gentlewoman's  garrison  was  on  the  most  extreme  fron 
tier  of  the  province,  and  more  obnoxious  than  any  other,  and 
therefore  more  incapable  of  being  relieved.  Nevertheless,  by 
her  presence  and  courage,  it  held  out  all  the  war,  even  for  ten 
years  together  ;  and  the  persons  in  it  have  enjoyed  very  emi 
nent  preservations.  It  would  have  been  deserted,  if  she  had 
accepted  offers  that  were  made  her  by  her  friends,  to  abandon 
it,  and  retire  to  Portsmouth  among  them,  which  would  have 
been  a  damage  to  the  town  and  land  ;  but  by  her  encourage 
ment  this  post  was  thus  kept  up,  and  she  is  yet  [1702]  living 
in  much  esteem  among  her  neighbors. 

NOTE  1. — MRS.  HEARD  was  the  widow  of  a  Mr.  John  Heard.  She  had 
five  sons,  Benjamin,  John,  Joseph,  Samuel  and  Tristram,  and  an  equal 
number  of  daughters.  The  last-named  son  was  waylaid  and  killed  by 
the  Indians  in  the  year  1723. — MS.  CHRONICLES  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

NOTE  2. — It  will  doubtless  seem  surprising  to  the  reader  that  Mrs.  Heard 
should  be  suffered  to  escape  captivity,  when  she  was  discovered  by  a 
grim  warrior,  who,  without  doubt,  was  seeking  for  some  white  inhab 
itant,  on  whom  to  wreak  his  vengeance.  The  facts  seem  to  be  these  : 
Thirteen  years  before,  namely,  in  1676,  when  the  four  hundred  Indians 
were  surprised  in  Dover,  (in  a  manner  not  at  all  doubtful  as  it  respect 


CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  GYLES.  73 

the  character  of  their  captors,)  this  same  Mrs.  Heard  secreted  a  young 
Indian  in  her  house,  by  which  means  he  escaped  that  calamitous  day. 
The  reader  of  Indian  history  will  not,  now,  I  presume,  harbor  surprise 
at  the  conduct  of  the  warrior.  For  the  particulars  of  the  event  con 
nected  with  this  narrative,  see  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  INDIANS,  Book  iii. 
Chap.  viii. — Ed. 


MEMOIRS 

OF  ODD  ADVENTURES,  STRANGE  DELIVERANCES,  ETC.,  IN  THE 
CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  GYLES,  ESQ.,  COMMANDER  OF  THE 
GARRISON  ON  ST.  GEORGE  RIVER,  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF 
MAINE.  WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF.  ORIGINALLY  PUBLISHED 
AT  BOSTON,  1736. 

INTRODUCTION. — These  private  memoirs  were  collected  from 
my  minutes,  at  the  earnest  request  of  my  second  consort,  for 
the  use  of  our  family,  that  we  might  have  a  memento  ever 
ready  at  hand,  to  excite  in  ourselves  gratitude  and  thankfulness 
to  God ;  and  in  our  offspring  a  due  sense  of  their  dependence 
on  the  Sovereign  of  the  universe,  from  the  precariousness  and 
vicissitudes  of  all  sublunary  enjoyments.  In  this  state,  and  for 
this  end,  they  have  laid  by  me  for  some  years.  They  at  length 
falling  into  the  hands  of  some,  for  whose  judgment  I  had  a 
value,  I  was  pressed  for  a  copy  for  the  public.  Others,  desir 
ing  of  me  to  extract  particulars  from  them,  which  the  multi 
plicity  and  urgency  of  my  affairs  would  not  admit,  I  have  now 
determined  to  suffer  their  publication.  I  have  not  made  scarce 
any  addition  to  this  manual,  except  in  the  chapter  of  creatures, 
which  I  was  urged  to  make  much  larger.  I  might  have  great 
ly  enlarged  it,  but  I  feared  it  would  grow  beyond  its  proportion. 
I  have  been  likewise  advised  to  give  a  particular  account  of 
my  father,  which  I  am  not  very  fond  of,  having  no  dependence 
on  the  virtues  or  honors  of  my  ancestors  to  recommend  me  to 
the  favor  of  God  or  men ;  nevertheless,  because  some  think  it 
is  a  respect  due  to  the  memory  of  my  parents,  whose  name  I 
was  obliged  to  mention  in  the  following  story,  and  a  satisfaction 
which  their  posterity  might  justly  expect  from  me,  I  shall  give 
some  account  of  him,  though  as  brief  as  possible. 

The  flourishing  state  of  New  England,  before  the  unhappy 

eastern  wars,  drew  my  father  hither,  whose  first  settlement  was 

on  Kennebeck  river,  at  a  place  called  Merrymeeting  Bay,  where 

he  dwelt  for  some  years ;  until,  on  the  death  of  my  grand  pa- 

7 


74  CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  GYLES. 

rents,  he,  with  his  family,  returned  to  England,  to  settle  his 
affairs.  This  done,  he  came  over  with  the  design  to  have  re 
turned  to  his  farm  ;  but  on  his  arrival  at  Boston,  the  eastern 
Indians  had  begun  their  hostilities.  He  therefore  begun  a 
settlement  on  Long  Island.  The  air  of  that  place  not  so  well 
agreeing  with  his  constitution,  and  the  Indians  having  become 
peaceable,  he  again  proposed  to  resettle  his  lands  in  Merrymeet- 
ing  Bay ;  but  finding  that  place  deserted,  and  that  plantations 
were  going  on  at  Pemmaquid,  he  purchased  several  tracts  of 
land  of  the  inhabitants  there.  Upon  his  highness  the  duke  of 
York  resuming  a  claim  to  those  parts,  my  father  took  out  patents 
under  that  claim ;  and  when  Pemmaquid  was  set  off  by  the 
name  of  the  county  of  Cornwall,  in  the  province  of  New  York, 
he  was  commissioned  chief  justice  of  the  same  by  Gov.  Duncan 
[Dongan.]  *  He  was  a  strict  Sabbatarian,  and  met  with  con 
siderable  difficulty  in  the  discharge  of  his  office,  from  the 
immoralities  of  a  people  who  had  long  lived  lawless.  He  laid 
out  no  inconsiderable  income,  which  he  had  annually  from 
England,  on  the  place,  and  at  last  lost  his  life  there,  as  will 
hereafter  be  related. 

I  am  not  insensible  of  the  truth  of  an  assertion  of  Sir  Roger 
L'Estrange,  that  "  Books  and  dishes  have  this  common  fate  : 
no  one  of  either  ever  pleased  all  tastes."  And  I  am  fully  of 
his  opinion  in  this :  "  It  is  as  little  to  be  wished  for  as  ex 
pected  ;  for  a  universal  applause  is,  at  least,  two  thirds  of  a 
scandal."  To  conclude  with  Sir  Roger,  "  Though  I  made  this 
composition  principally  for  my  family,  yet,  if  any  man  has  a 
mind  to  take  part  with  me,  he  has  free  leave,  and  is  welcome  ;" 
but  let  him  carry  this  consideration  along  with  him,  "  that  he 
is  a  very  unmannerly  guest  who  forces  himself  upon  another 
man's  table,  and  then  quarrels  with  his  dinner." 

CHAPTER  I. — Containing  the  occurrences  of  the  first  year. 
On  the  second  day  of  August,  1689,  in  the  morning,  my  hon 
ored  father,  THOMAS  GYLES,  Esq.,  went  with  some  laborers,  my 
two  elder  brothers  and  myself,  to  one  of  his  farms,  which  laid 
upon  the  river  about  three  miles  above  fort  Charles,t  adjoining 
Pemmaquid  falls,  there  to  gather  in  his  English  harvest,  and 
we  labored  securely  till  noon.  After  we  had  dined,  our  people 

*  He  had  been  appointed  governor  of  New  York  30  Sept.  1682.— Ed. 

•}  Fort  Charles  stood  on  the  spot  where  fort  Frederick  was,  not  long 
since,  founded  by  Colonel  Dunbar.  The  township  adjoining  thereto  was 
called  Jamestown,  in  honor  to  the  duke  of  York.  In  this  town,  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  fort,  was  my  father's  dwelling-house,  from  which 
he  went  out  that  unhappy  morning. 


CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  GYLES.  75 

went  to  their  labor,  some  in  one  field  to  their  English  hay,  the 
others  to  another  field  of  English  corn.  My  father,  the  young 
est  of  my  two  brothers,  and  myself,  tarried  near  the  farm-house 
in  which  we  had  dined  till  about  one  of  the  clock;  at  which 
time  we  heard  the  report  of  several  great  guns  at  the  fort. 
Upon  which  my  father  said  he  hoped  it  was  a  signal  of  good 
news,  and  that  the  great  council  had  sent  back  the  soldiers,  to 
cover  the  inhabitants  ;  (for  on  report  of  the  revolution  they  had 
deserted.)  But  to  our  great  surprise,  about  thirty  or  forty  In 
dians,^  at  that  moment,  discharged  a  volley  of  shot  at  us,  from 
behind  a  rising  ground,  near  our  barn.  The  yelling  of  the 
Indians,!  the  whistling  of  their  shot,  and  the  voice  of  my  father, 
whom  I  heard  cry  out,  "  What  now !  what  now ! "  so  terrified 
me,  (though  he  seemed  to  be  handling  a  gun,)  that  I  endeavor 
ed  to  make  my  escape.  My  brother  ran  one  way  and  I  another, 
and  looking  over  my  shoulder,  I  saw  a  stout  fellow,  painted, 
pursuing  me  with  a  gun,  and  a  cutlass  glittering  in  his  hand, 
which  I  expected  every  moment  in  my  brains.  I  soon  fell 
down,  and  the  Indian  seized  me  by  the  left  hand.  He  offered 
me  no  abuse,  but  tied  my  arms,  then  lifted  me  up,  and  pointed 
to  the  place  where  the  people  were  at  work  about  the  hay,  and 
led  me  that  way.  As  we  went,  we  crossed  where  my  father 
was,  who  looked  very  pale  and  bloody,  and  walked  very  slowly. 
When  we  came  to  the  place,  I  saw  two  men  shot  down  on  the 
flats,  and  one  or  two  more  knocked  on  their  heads  with  hatch 
ets,  crying  out,  "  0  Lord,"  &c.  There  the  Indians  brought 
two  captives,  one  a  man,  and  my  brother  James,  who,  with  me, 
had  endeavored  to  escape  by  running  from  the  house,  when  we 
were  first  attacked.  This  brother  was  about  fourteen  years  of 
age.  My  oldest  brother,  whose  name  was  Thomas,  wonder 
fully  escaped  by  land  to  the  Barbican,  a  point  of  land  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  opposite  the  fort,  where  several  fishing 
vessels  lay.  He  got  on  board  one  of  them  and  sailed  that 
night. 

After  doing  what  mischief  they  could,  they  sat  down,  and 
made  us  sit  with  them.  After  some  time  we  arose,  and  the 
Indians  pointed  for  us  to  go  eastward.  We  marched  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  and  then  made  a  halt.  Here  they  brought 
my  father  to  us.  They  made  proposals  to  him,  by  old  Moxus, 
who  told  him  that  those  were  strange  Indians  who  shot  him, 

*  The  whole  company  of  Indians,  according  to  Charlevoix,  was  one 
hundred. — Ed. 

f  The  Indians  have  a  custom  of  uttering  a  most  horrid  howl  when  they 
discharge  guns,  designing  thereby  to  terrify  those  whom  they  fight 
against. 


76  CAPTIVITY  OF  JOHN  GYLES. 

and  that  he  was  sorry  for  it.  My  father  replied  that  he  was 
a  dying  man,  and  wanted  no  favor  of  them,  but  to  pray  with 
his  children.  This  being-  granted  him,  he  recommended  us  to 
the  protection  and  blessing  of  God  Almighty;  then  gave  us 
the  best  advice,  and  took  his  leave  for  this  life,  hoping  in  God 
that  we  should  meet  in  a  better.  He  parted  with  a  cheerful 
voice,  but  looked  very  pale,  by  reason  of  his  great  loss  of  blood, 
which  now  gushed  out  of  his  shoes.  The  Indians  led  him 
aside ! — I  heard  the  blows  of  the  hatchet,  but  neither  shriek 
fior  groan  !  I  afterwards  heard  that  he  had  five  or  seven  shot- 
holes  through  his  waistcoat  or  jacket,  and  that  he  was  covered 
with  some  boughs. 

The  Indians  led  us,  their  captives,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  towards  the  fort,  and  when  we  came  within  a  mile  and 
a  half  of  the  fort  and  town,  and  could  see  the  fort,  we  saw 
firing  and  smoke  on  all  sides.  Here  we  made  a  short  stop, 
and  then  moved  within  or  near  the  distance  of  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  from  the  fort,  into  a  thick  swamp.  There  I  saw  my 
mother  and  my  two  little  sisters,  and  many  other  captives  who 
were  taken  from  the  town.  My  mother  asked  me  about  my 
father.  I  told  her  he  was  killed,  but  could  say  no  more  for 
grief.  She  burst  into  tears,  and  the  Indians  moved  me  a  little 
farther  off,  and  seized  me  with  cords  to  a  tree. 

The  Indians  came  to  New  Harbor,  and  sent  spies  several 
days  to  observe  how  and  where  the  people  were  employed, 
&c.,  who  found  the  men  were  generally  at  work  at  noon,  and 
left  about  their  houses  only  women  and  children.  Therefore 
the  Indians  divided  themselves  into  several  parties,  some  am 
bushing  the  way  between  the  fort  and  the  houses,  as  likewise 
between  them  and  the  distant  fields ;  and  then  alarming  the 
farthest  off  first,  they  killed  and  took  the  people,  as  they 
moved  towards  the  town  and  fort,  at  their  pleasure,  and  very 
few  escaped  to  it.  Mr.  Pateshall  was  taken  and  killed,  as  he 
lay  with  his  sloop  near  the  Barbican. 

On  the  first  stir  about  the  fort,  my  youngest  brother  was  at 
play  near  it,  and  running  in,  was  by  God's  goodness  thus  pre 
served.  Captain  Weems,  with  great  courage  and  resolution, 
defended  the  weak  old  fort^  two  days  ;  when,  being  much 
wounded,  and  the  best  of  his  men  killed,  he  beat  for  a  parley, 
which  eventuated  in  these  conditions : 

1.  That  they,  the  Indians,  should  give  him  Mr.  Pateshall's 
sloop.  2.  That  they  should  not  molest  him  in  carrying  off  the 

*  I  presume  Charlevoix  was  misinformed  about  the  strength  of  this  place. 
He  says,  "  Us  [the  English]  y  avoient  fait  un  fort  bel  etablissement,  de- 
fendu  par  un  fort,  qui  n'etoit  a  la  verite  que  de  pieux,  mais  assez  regulierc- 
flient  construit,  avec  vingt  canons  monies." 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  77 

few  pec  pie  that  had  got  into  the  fort,  and  three  captives  that 
they  had  taken.  3.  That  the  English  should  carry  off  in  their 
hands  what  they  could  from  the  fort. 

On  these  conditions  the  fort  was  surrendered,  and  Captain 
Weems  went  off;  and  soon  after,  the  Indians  set  on  fire  the 
fort  and  houses,  which  made  a  terrible  blast,  and  was  a  melan 
choly  sight  to  us  poor  captives,  who  were  sad  spectators  ! 

After  the  Indians  had  thus  laid  waste  Pemmaquid,  they 
moved  us  to  New  Harbor,  about  two  miles  east  of  Pemmaquid, 
a  cove  much  frequented  by  fishermen.  At  this  place,  there 
were,  before  the  war,  about  twelve  houses.  Thes§  the  inhab 
itants  deserted  as  soon  as  the  rumor  of  war  reached  the  place. 
When  we  turned  our  backs  on  the  town,  my  heart  was  ready 
to  break !  I  saw  my  mother.  She  spoke  to  me,  but  I  could 
not  answer  her.  That  night  we  tarried  at  New  Harbor,  and 
the  next  day  went  in  their  canoes  for  Penobscot.  About 
noon,  the  canoe  in  which  my  mother  was,  and  that  in  which  I 
was,  came  side  by  side ;  whether  accidentally  or  by  my 
mother's  desire  I  cannot  say.  She  asked  me  how  I  did.  I 
think  I  said  "  pretty  well,"  but  my  heart  was  so  full  of  grief  I 
scarcely  knew  whether  audible  to  her.  Then  she  said,  "  0, 
my  child !  how  joyful  and  pleasant  it  would  be,  if  we  were 
going  to  old  England,  to  see  your  uncle  Chalker,  and  other 
friends  there  !  Poor  babe,  we  are  going  into  the  wilderness, 
the  Lord  knows  where  !"  Then  bursting  into  tears,  the  canoes 
parted.  That  night  following,  the  Indians  with  their  captives 
lodged  on  an  island. 

A  few  days  after,  we  arrived  at  Penobscot  fort,  where  I 
again  saw  my  mother,  my  brother  and  sisters,  and  many  other 
captives.  I  think  we  .tarried  here  eight  days.  In  that  time, 
the  Jesuit  of  the  place  had  a  great  mind  to  buy  me.  My 
Indian  master  made  a  visit  to  the  Jesuit,  and  carried  me  with 
him.  And  here  I' will  note,  that  the  Indian  who  takes  a  cap 
tive  is  accounted  his  master,  and  has  a  perfect  right  to  him, 
until  he  gives  or  sells  him  to  another.  I  saw  the  Jesuit  show 
my  master  pieces  of  gold,  and  understood  afterwards  that  he 
was  tendering  them  for  my  ransom.  He  gave  me  a  biscuit, 
which  I  put  into  my  pocket,  and  not  daring  to  eat  it,  buried  it 
under  a  log,  fearing  he  had  put  something  into  it  to  make  me 
love  him.  Being  very  young,  and  having  heard  much  of  the 
Papists  torturing  the  Protestants,  caused  me  to  act  thus  ;  and 
I  hated  the  sight  of  a  Jesuit.^  When  my  mother  heard  the 

*  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  antipathy  should  be  so  plainly 
exhibited  at  this  time,  considering  what  had  been  going  on  in  Engjand  up 
to  the  latest  dates;  but  that  children  should  have  beer,  taught,  that 
Catholics  had  the  power  of  winning  over  heretics  by  any  mysterious  pow- 


78  JOHN  GYLES'   CAPTIVITY. 

talk  of  my  being  sold  to  a  Jesuit,  she  said  to  me,  "  Oh,  my 
dear  child,  if  it  were  God's  will,  I  had  rather  follow  you  to 
your  grave,  or  never  see  you  more  in  this  world,  than  you 
should  be  sold  to  a  Jesuit ;  for  a  Jesuit  will  ruin  you,  body  and 
soul  !"*  It  pleased  God  to  grant  her  request,  for  she  never 
saw  me  more  !  Yet  she  and  my  two  little  sisters  were,  after 
several  years'  captivity,  redeemed,  but  she  died  before  I  returned. 
My  brother  who  was  taken  with  me,  was,  after  several  years' 
captivity,  most  barbarously  tortured  to  death  by  the  Indians. 

My  Indian  master  carried  me  up  Penobscot  river,  to  a  vil 
lage  called,  Madaivamkee,  which  stands  on  a  point  of  land 
between  the  main  river  and  a  branch  which  heads  to  the 
east  of  it.  At  home  I  had  ever  seen  strangers  treated  with 
the  utmost  civility,  and  being  a  stranger,  I  expected  some  kind 
treatment  here  ;  but  -I  soon  found  myself  deceived,  for  I  pres 
ently  saw  a  number  of  squaws,  who  had  got  together  in  a 
circle,  dancing  and  yelling.  An  old  grim-looking  one  took 
me  by  the  hand,  and  leading  me  into  the  ring,  some  seized 
me  by  niy  hair,  and  others  by  my  hands  and  feet,  like  so  many 
furies  ;  but  my  master  presently  laying  down  a  pledge,  they 
released  me. 

A  captive  among  the  Indians  is  exposed  to  all  manner  of 
abuses,  and  to  the  extremest  tortures,  unless  their  master,  or 
some  of  their  master's  relations,  lay  down  a  ransom ;  such  as 
a  bag  of  corn,  a  blanket,  or  the  like,  which  redeems  them  from 
their  cruelty  for  that  dance.  The  next  day  we  went  up  that 
eastern  branch  of  Penobscot  river  many  leagues  ;  carried 
over  land  to  a  large  pond,  and  from  one  pond  to  another,  till, 
in  a  few  days,  we  went  down  a  river,  called  Medocktack, 
which  vents  itself  into  St.  John's  river.  •  But  before  we  came 
to  the  mouth  of  this  river,  we  passed  over  a  long  carrying 
place,  to  Medocktack  fort,  which  stands  on  a  bank  of  St. 

ders,  or  other  arts,  furnished  them  by  his  satanic  majesty,  is  a  matter,  to 
say  the  least,  of  no  little  admiration. — Ed. 

*  It  may  not  be  improper  to  hear  how  the  Jesuits  themselves  viewed 
these  matters.  The  settlement  here  was,  according  to  the  French  account, 
in  their  dominions,  and  the  English  settlers  "incommoded  extremely  from 
thence  all  the  Indians  in  the  adjacent  country,  who  were  the  avowed  friends 
of  the  French,  and  caused  the  government  of  Acadia  no  less  inquietude, 
who  feared  with  reason  the  effect  of  their  intrigues  in  detaching  the  Indians 
from  their  alliance.  The  Indians,  who  undertook  to  break  up  the  post 
at  Pemmaquid,  were  Penobscots.  among  whom  a  Jesuit,  named  M.  THTTRY, 
a  good  laborer  in  the  faith,  had  a  numerous  mission.  The  first  atten 
tion  before  setting  out  of  these  brave  Christians  was  to  secure  aid  of  the 
God  of  battles,  by  confessions  and  the  sacrament ;  and  they  took  care 
that  thfir  wives  and  children  performed  the  same  rites,  and  raised  their 
pure  hands  to  heaven,  while  their  fathers  and  mothers  went  out  to  bafle 
against  the  heretics."  See  Charlevoix. — Ed. 


JOHN  GYLES'   CAPTIVITY.  79 

John's  river.  My  master  went  before,  and  left  me  with  an 
old  Indian,  and  two  or  three  squaws.  The  old  man  often  said, 
(which  was  all  the  English  he  could  speak,)  "By  and  by  come 
to  a  g  eat  town  and  fort."  I  now  comforted  myself  in  think 
ing  how  finely  I  should  be  refreshed  when  I  came  to  this  great 
town. 

After  some  miles'  travel  we  came  in  sight  of  a  large  corn 
field,  and  soon  after  of  the  fort,  to  my  great  surprise.  Two 
or  three  squaws  met  us,  took  off  my  pack,  and  led  me  to  a 
large  hut  or  wigwam,  where  thirty  or  forty  Indians  were  dan 
cing  and  yelling  round  five  or  six  poor  captives,  who  had  been 
taken  some  months  before  from  Quochech,  at  the  time  Major 
Waldron  was  so  barbarously  butchered  by  them.  And  before 
proceeding  with  my  narrative  I  will  give  a  short  account  of 
that  action. 

Major  Waldron 's  garrison  was  taken  on  the  night  of  the 
27th  of  June,  1689.^  I  have  heard  the  Indians  say  at  a  feast 
that  as  there  was  a  truce  for  some  days,  they  contrived  to  send 
in  two  squaws  to  take  notice  of  the  numbers,  lodgings  and 
other  circumstances  of  the  people  in  his  garrison,  and  if  they 
could  obtain  leave  to  lodge  there,  to  open  the  gates  and  whistle. 
(They  said  the  gates  had  no  locks,  but  were  fastened  with 
pins,  and  that  they  kept  no  watch.)  The  squaws  had  a  favor 
able  season  to  prosecute  their  projection,  for  it  was  dull 
weather  when  they  came  to  beg  leave  to  lodge  in  the  garrison. 
They  told  the  major  that  a  great  number  of  Indians  were  not 
far  from  thence,  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  beaver,  who 
would  be  there  to  trade  with  him  the  next  day.  Some  of  the 
people  were  very  much  against  their  lodging  in  the  garrison, 
but  the  major  said,  "  Let  the  poor  creatures  lodge  by  the  fire." 
The  squaws  went  into  every  apartment,  and  observing  the 
numbers  in  each,  when  all  the  people  were  asleep,  arose  and 
opened  the  gates,  gave  the  signal,  and  the  other  Indians  came 
to  them  ;  and  having  received  an  account  of  the  state  of  tho 
garrison,  they  divided  according  to  the  number  of  people  in 
each  apartment,  and  soon  took  and  killed  them  all.  The 
major  lodged  within  an  inner  room,  and  when  the  Indians 
broke  in  upon  him,  he  cried  out,  "  What  now !  what  now  !" 
and  jumping  out  of  bed  with  only  his  shirt  on,  seized  his  sword 
and  drove  them  before  him  through  two  or  three  doors ;  but  for 

*  The  date  stands  in  the  old  narrative,  "in  the  beginning  of  April  on 
the  night  after  a  Sabbath,"  which  being  an  error,  I  have  corrected  it. 
What  time  in  the  night  of  the  27th  the  place  was  attacked,  is  not  mentioned, 
but  the  accounts  of  it  are  chiefly  dated  the  day  following,  viz.  the  28th, 
when  the  tragedy  was  finished.  The  squaws  had  taken  up  their  lodging 
there  on  the  night  of  the  27th,  and  if  the  attack  begun  before  midnight, 
•which  it  probably  did,  the  date  in  the  text  is  the  true  one.— Ed. 


80  JOHN  GYLES'    CAPTIVITY. 

some  reason,  turning  about  towards  the  apartment  he  had  just 
left,  ai;  Indian  came  up  behind  him,  knocked  him  on  the  head 
with  his  hatchet,  which  stunned  him,  and  he  fell.  They  now 
seized  upon  him,  dragged  him  out,  and  setting  him  upon  a 
long  table  in  his  hall,  bid  him  "judge  Indians  again."  Then 
they  cut  and  stabbed  him,  and  he  cried  out,  "  O,  Lord  !  O, 
Lord  !"  They  bid  him  order  his  book  of  accounts  to  be 
brought,  and  to  cross  out  all  the  Indians'  debts,5*  (he  having 
traded  much  with  them.)  After  they  had  tortured  him  to 
death,  they  burned  the  garrison  and  drew  off.  This  narration 
I  had  frooi  their  own  mouths,  at  a  general  meeting,  and  have 
reas-m  to  think  it  true.t  But  to  return  to  my  narrative. 

I  was  whirled  in  among  this  circle  of  Indians,  and  we  pris 
oners  looked  on  each  other  with  a  sorrowful  countenance. 
Presently  cue  of  them  was  seized  by  each  hand  and  foot,  by 
four  Indians,  who,  swinging  him  up,  let  his  back  fall  on  the 
ground  with  full  force.  This  they  repeated,  till  they  had 
danced,  as  \\.ey  called  it,  round  the  whole  wigwam,  which  was 
thirty  or  forty  feet  in  length.  But  when  they  torture  a  boy 
they  take  hi.n  up  between  two.  This  is  one  of  their  customs 
of  torturing  :aptives.  Another  is  to  take  up  a  person  by  the 
middle,  with  his  head  downwards,  and  jolt  him  round  till  one 
would  think  his  bowels  would  shake  out  of  his  mouth.  Some 
times  they  will  take  a  captive  by  the  hair  of  the  head,  and 
stooping  him  forward,  strike  him  on  the  back  and  shoulder,  • 
till  the  blood  gushes  out  of  his  mouth  and  nose.  Sometimes 
an  old  shrivelled  squaw  will  take  up  a  shovel  of  hot  embers 
and  throw  them  into  a  captive's  bosom.  If  he  cry  out,  the 
Indians  will  laugh  and  shout,  and  say,  "  What  a  brave  action 
our  old  grandmother  has  done."  Sometimes  they  torture  them 
with  whips,  &c. 

The  Indians  looked  on  me  with  a  fierce  countenance,  as 
much  as  to  say,  it  will  be  your  turn  next.  They  champed 
cornstalks,  which  they  threw  into  my  hat,  as  I  held  it  in  my 
hand.  I  smiled  on  them,  though  my  heart  ached.  I  looked 
on  one,  and  another,  but  could  not  perceive  that  any  eye  pitied 
me.  Presently  came  a  squaw  and  a  little  girl,  and  laid  down 
a  bag  of  corn  in  the  ring.  The  little  girl  took  me  by  the  hand, 
making  signs  for  me  to  go  out  of  the  circle  with  them.  Not 
knowing  their  custom,  I  supposed  they  designed  to  kill  me, 

*  When  they  gashed  his  naked  breast,  they  said  in  derision,  "  I  cross 
out  my  account." — Ed. 

f  In  a  previous  note,  to  another  narrative,  I  have  referred  the  reader  to 
my  large  work,  (THE  BOOK  OF  THE  INDIANS,)  where  all  the  circumstances 
of  this  shocking  affair  are  detailed.— Ed. 


JOHN  GYLES'    CAPTIVITY.  81 

and  refused  to  go.  Then  a  grave  Indian  came  and  gave  me  a 
short  pipe,  and  said  in  English,  "  Smoke  it ;"  then  he  took  me 
by  the  hand  and  led  me  out.  My  heart  ached,  thinking  my 
self  near  my  end.  But  he  carried  me  to  a  French  hut,  about 
a  mile  from  the  Indian  fort.  The  Frenchman  was  not  at 
home,  but  his  wife,  who  was  a  squaw,  had  some  discourse  with 
my  Indian  friend,  which  I  did  not  understand.  We  tarried 
about  two  hours,  then  returned  to  the  Indian  village,  where 
they  gave  me  some  victuals.  Not  long  after  this  I  saw  one  of 
my  fellow-captives,  who  gave  me  a  melancholy  account  of 
their  sufferings  after  I  left  them. 

After  some  weeks  had  passed,  we  left  this  village  and  went 
up  St.  John's  river  about  ten  miles,  to  a  branch  called  Medock- 
scenecasis,  where  there  was  one  wigwam.  At  our  arrival  an 
old  squaw  saluted  me  with  a  yell,  taking  me  by  the  hair  and 
one  hand,  but  I  was  so  rude  as  to  break  her  hold  and  free 
myself.  She  gave  me  a  filthy  grin,  and  the  Indians  set  up  a 
laugh,  and  so  it  passed  over.  Here  we  lived  upon  fish,  wild 
grapes,  roots,  &c.,  which  was  hard  living  to  me. 

When  the  winter  came  on  we  went  up  the  river,  till  the 
ice  came  down,  running  thick  in  the  river,  when,  according 
to  the  Indian  custom,  we  laid  up  our  canoes  till  spring.  Then 
we  travelled  sometimes  on  the  ice,  and  sometimes  on  the  land, 
till  we  came  to  a  river  that  was  open,  but  not  fordable,  where 
we  made  a  raft,  and  passed  over,  bag  and  baggage.  I  met 
with  no  abuse  from  them  in  this  winter's  hunting,  though  I  was 
put  to  great  hardships  in  carrying  burdens  and  for  want  of  food. 
But  they  underwent  the  same  difficulty,  and  would  often 
encourage  me,  saying,  in  broken  English,  "By  and  by  great 
deal  moose."  Yet  they  could  not  answer  any  question  I  asked 
them.  And  knowing  little  of  their  customs  and  way  of  life,  I 
thought  it  tedious  to  be  constantly  moving  from  place  to  place, 
though  it  might  be  in  some  respects  an  advantage  ;  for  it  ran 
still  in  my  mind  that  we  were  travelling  to  some  settlement ; 
and  when  my  burden  was  over-heavy,  and  the  Indians  left 
me  behind,  and  the  still  evening  coming  on,  I  fancied  I  could 
see  through  the  bushes,  and  hear  the  people  of  some  great 
town ;  which  hope,  though  some  support  to  me  in  the  day, 
yet  I  found  not  the  town  at  night. 

Thus  we  were  hunting  three  hundred  miles1*  from  the  sea, 
and  knew  no  man  within  fifty  or  sixty  miles  of  us.  We  were 
eight  or  ten  in  number,  and  had  but  two  guns,  on  which  we 

*  A  pardonable  error,  perhaps,  considering  the  author's  ignorance  of  the 
geography  of  the  country.     He  could  hardly  have  got  three  hundred 
miles  from  the  month  of  the  Penobscot,  in  a  northerly  direction,  without 
crossing  the  St.  Lawrence.— Ed. 
6 


25 


82  JOHN  GYLES'    CAPTIVITY. 

wholly  depended  for  food.  If  any  disaster  had  happened,  we 
must  all  have  perished.  Sometimes  we  had  no  manner  of  sus 
tenance  for  three  or  four  days ;  but  God  wonderfully  provides 
for  all  creatures.  In  one  of  these  fasts,  God's  providence 
was  remarkable.  Our  two  Indian  men,  who  had  guns,  in 
hunting  started  a  moose,  but  there  being  a  shallow  crusted 
snow  on  the  ground,  and  the  moose  discovering  them,  ran  with, 
great  force  into  a  swamp.  The  Indians  went  round  the  swamp, 
and  finding  no  track,  returned  at  night  to  the  wigwam,  and 
told  what  had  happened.  The  next  morning  they  followed 
him  on  the  track,  and  soon  found  him  lying  on  the  snow.  He 
had,  in  crossing  the  roots  of  a  large  tree,  that  had  been  blown 
down,  broken  through  the  ice  made  over  the  water  in  the  hole 
occasioned  by  the  roots  of  the  tree  taking  up  the  ground,  and 
hitched  one  of  his  hind  legs  among  the  roots,  so  fast  that  by 
striving  to  get  it  out  he  pulled  his  thigh  bone  out  of  its  socket 
at  the  hip ;  and  thus  extraordinarily  were  we  provided  for  in 
our  great  strait.  Sometimes  they  would  take  a  bear,  which 
go  into  dens  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  without  any  sort  of 
food,  and  lie  there  four  or  five  months  without  food,  never 
going  out  till  spring;  in  which  time  they  neither  lose  nor 
gain  in  flesh.  If  they  went  into  their  dens  fat  they  came  out 
so,  and  if  they  went  in  lean  they  came  out  lean.  I  have  seen 
some  which  have  come  out  with  four  whelps,  and  both  very 
fat,  and  then  we  feasted.  An  old  squaw  and  a  captive,  if  any 
present,  must  stand  without  the  wigwam,  shaking  their  hands 
and  bodies  as  in  a  dance,  and  singing,  "  WEGAGE  OH  NELO 
won,"  which  in  English  is,  "  Fat  is  my  eating."  This  is  to 
signify  their  thankfulness  in  feasting  times.  When  one  supply 
was  spent  we  fasted  till  further  success. 

The  way  they  preserve  meat  is  by  taking  the  flesh  from  the 
bones  and  drying  it  in  smoke,  by  which  it  is  kept  sound 
months  or  years  without  salt.  We  moved  still  further  up 
the  country  after  moose  when  our  store  was  out,  so  that  by 
the  spring  we  had  got  to  the  northward  of  the  Lady  moun 
tains.*  When  the  spring  came  and  the  rivers  broke  up,  we 
moved  back  to  the  head  of  St.  John's  river,  and  there  made 
canoes  of  moose  hides,  sewing  three  or  four  together  and 
pitching  the  seams  with  balsam  mixed  with  charcoal.  Then 
we  went  down  the  river  to  a  place  called  Madawescook.t  There 
an  old  man  lived  and  kept  a  sort  of  trading  house,  where 

^  *  If  these  are  the  same  the  French  called  Monts  Notre  Dame,  our  cap 
tive  was  now  on  the  borders  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  the  north  of  the  head 
of  the  bay  of  Chaleurs.— Ed. 

f  Probably  the  now  well-known  Madawasca,  of  "  disputed  territory'' 
memory. 


-JOHN  GYLES'    CAPTIVITY.  83 

we  tarried  several  days ;  then  went  farther  down  the  river  till 
we  came  to  the  greatest  falls  in  these  parts,  called  Checaneke- 
peag,  where  we  carried  a  little  way  over  the  land,  and  putting 
off  our  canoes  we  went  down-stream  still.  And  as  we  passed 
down  by  the  mouths  of  any  large  branches,  we  saw  In 
dians  ;  but  when  any  dance  was  proposed,  I  was  bought  off. 
At  length  we  arrived  at  the  place  where  we  left  our  birch 
canoes  in  the  fall,  and  putting  our  baggage  into  them,  went 
down  to  the  fort. 

There  we  planted  corn,  and  after  planting  went  a  fishing, 
and  to  look  for  and  dig  roots,  till  the  corn  was  fit  to  weed. 
After  weeding  we  took  a  second  tour  on  the  same  errand,  then 
returned  to  hill  our  corn.  After  hilling  we  went  some  dis 
tance  from  the  fort  and  field,  up  the  river,  to  take  salmon  and  jj 
other  fish,  which  we  dried  for  food,  where  we  continued  till 
corn  was  filled  with  milk ;  some  of  it  we  dried  then,  the  other 
as  it  ripened.  To  dry  corn  when  in  the  milk,  they  gather  it 
in  large  kettles  and  boil  it  on  the  ears,  till  it  is  pretty  hard, 
then  shell  it  from  the  cob  with  clam-shells,  and  dry  it  on  bark 
in  the  sun.  When  it  is  thoroughly  dry,  a  kernel  is  no  bigger 
than  a  pea,  and  would  keep  years,  and  when  it  is  boiled  again 
it  swells  as  large  as  when  on  the  ear,  and  tastes  incomparably 
sweeter  than  other  corn.  When  we  had  gathered  our  corn 
and  dried  it  in  the  way  already  described,  we  put  some  into 
Indian  barns,  that  is,  into  holes  in  the  ground,  lined  and  cov 
ered  with  bark,  and  then  with  dirt.  The  rest  we  carried  up 
the  river  upon  our  next  winter's  hunting.  Thus  God  wonder 
fully  favored  me,  and  carried  me  through  the  first  year  of  my 
captivity. 

CHAPTER  II. — Of  the  abusive  and  larbarom  treatment  which 
several  captives  met  with  from  the  Indians.  When  any  great 
number  of  Indians  met,  or  when  any  captives  had  been  lately 
taken,  or  when  any  captives  desert  and  are  retaken,  they  have 
a  dance,  and  torture  the  unhappy  people  who  have  fallen  into 
their  hands.  My  unfortunate  brother,  who  was  taken  with 
me,  after  about  three  years'  captivity,  deserted  with  another 
Englishman,  who  had  been  taken  from  Casco  Bay,  and  way 
retaken  by  the  Indians  at  New  Harbor,  and  carried  back  to 
Penobscot  fort.  Here  they  were  both  tortured  at  a  stake  by 
fire,  for  some  time ;  then  their  noses  and  ears  were  cut  off, 
and  they  made  to  eat  them.  After  this  they  were  burnt  to 
death  at  the  stake  ;  the  Indians  at  the  same  time  declaring 
that  they  would  serve  all  deserters  in  the  same  manner.  Thus 
they  divert  themselves  in  their  dances. 

On  the  second  spring  of  my  captivity,  my  Indian  master  and 


84  JOHN  GYLES'    CAPTIVITY. 

his  squaw  went  to  Canada,  but  sent  me  down  the  river  with 
several  Indians  to  the  fort,  to  plant  corn.  The  day  before  we 
came  to  the  planting  ground,  we  met  two  young  Indian  men, 
who  seemed  to  be  in  great  haste.  After  they  had  passed  us, 
I  understood  they  were  going  with  an  express  to  Canada,  and 
•  that  there  was  an  English  vessel  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  I 
not  being  perfect  in  their  language,  nor  knowing  that  English 
vessels  traded  with  them  in  time  of  war,  supposed  a  peace  was 
concluded  on,  and  that  the  captives  would  be  released ;  I  was 
so  transported  with  this  fancy,  that  I  slept  but  little  if  any  that 
night.  Early  the  next  morning  we  came  to  the  village,  where 
my  ecstacy  ended ;  for  I  had  no  sooner  landed,  but  three  or 
four  Indians  dragged  me  to  the  great  wigwam,  where  they 
were  yelling  and  dancing  round  James  Alexander,  a  Jersey 
man,  who  was  taken  from  Falmouth,  in  Casco  Bay.  This 
was  occasioned  by  two  families  of  Cape  Sable  Indians,  who, 
having  lost  some  friends  by  a  number  of  English  fishermen, 
came  some  hundreds  of  miles  to  revenge  themselves  on  poor 
captives.  They  soon  came  to  me,  and  tossed  me  about  till  1 
was  almost  breathle-ss,  and  then  threw  me  into  the  ring  to  my 
fellow-captive ;  and  taking  him  out,  repeated  their  barbarities 
on  him.  Then  I  was  hauled  out  again  by  three  Indians,  who 
seized  me  by  the  hair  of  the  head ;  and  bending  me  down  by 
my  hair,  one  beat  me  on  the  back  and  shoulders  so  long  that 
my  breath  was  almost  beat  out  of  my  body. ,  Then  others  put 
a  tomhake*  [tomahawk]  into  my  hands,  and  ordered  me  to  get 
up  and  sing  and  dance  Indian,  which  I  performed  with  the 
greatest  reluctance,  and  while  in  the  act,  seemed  determined 
to  purchase  my  death,  by  killing  two  or  three  of  those  monsters 
of  cruelty,  thinking  it  impossible  to  survive  their  bloody  treat 
ment  ;  but  it  was  impressed  on  my  mind  that  it  was  not  in 
their  power  to  take  away  my  life,  so  I  desisted. 

Then  those  Cape  Sable  Indians  came  to  me  again  like  bears 
bereaved  of  their  whelps,  saying,  "  Shall  we,  who  have  lost 
relations  by  the  English,  suffer  an  English  voice  to  be  heard 
among  us  ? "  &c.  Then  they  beat  me  again  with  the  axe. 

*  The  tnmhake  is  a  warlike  club,  the  shape  of  which  may  be  seen  in  cuts 
of  ETOWOHKOAM.  one  of  the  four  Indian  chiefs,  which  cuts  are  common 
amongst  us.  [Mr.  Gyles  refers  to  the  four  Iroquois  chiefs,  who  visited 
England  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  About  those  chiefs  I  have  collect 
ed  and  published  the  particulars  in  the  Book  of  the  Indians.  And  I  will 
here  remark  that  the  compilers  of  the  ponderous  Indian  Biography  and 
History,  now  in  course  of  publication,  under  the  names  t>f  James  Hall 
and  T.  L.  M'Kenny,  have  borrowed  my  labors  with  no  sparing  hand — they 
have  not  even  owned  it ;  having  no  faith,  probably,  that  by  so  doing  they 
might  pay  half  the  debt.  "He  who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash,"  but  he 
who  robs  me  of  my  labors  — Ed.] 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  85 

Now  I  repented  that  I  had  not  sent  two  or  three  of  them  out 
of  the  world  before  me,  for  I  thought  I  had  much  rather  die 
than  suffer  any  longer.  They  left  me  the  second  time,  and  the 
other  Indians  put  the  tomhake  into  my  hands  again,  and  com 
pelled  me  to  sing.  Then  I  seemed  more  resolute  than  before 
to  destroy  some  of  them ;  but  a  strange  and  strong  impulse 
that  I  should  return  to  my  own  place  and  people  suppressed 
it,  as  often  as  such  a  motion  rose  in  my  breast.  Not  one  of 
them  showed  the  least  compassion,  but  I  saw  the  tears  run 
down  plentifully  on  the  cheeks  of  a  Frenchman  who  sat  behind, 
though  it  did  not  alleviate  the  tortures  that  poor  James  and  I 
were  forced  to  endure  for  the  most  part  of  this  tedious  day; 
for  they  were  continued  till  the  evening,  and  were  the  most 
severe  that  ever  I  met  with  in  the  whole  six  years  that  I  was 
a  captive  with  the  Indians. 

After  they  had  thus  inhumanly  abused  us,  two  Indians  took 
us  up  and  threw  us  out  of  the  wigwam,  and  we  crawled  away 
on  our  hands  and  feet,  and  were  scarce  able  to  walk  for  several 
days.  Some  time  after  they  again  concluded  on  a  merry 
dance,  when  I  was  at  some  distance  from  the  wigwam  dressing 
leather,  and  an  Indian  was  so  kind  as  to  tell  me  that  they  had 
got  James  Alexander,  and  were  in  search  for  me.  My  Indian 
master  and  his  squaw  bid  me  run  for  my  life  into  a  swamp  and 
hide,  and  not  to  discover  myself  unless  they  both  came  to  me ; 
for  then  I  might  be  assured  the  dance  was  over.  I  was  now 
master  of  their  language,  and  a  word  or  a  wink  was  enough 
to  excite  me  to  take  care  of  one.  I  ran  to  the  swamp,  and  hid 
in  the  thickest  place  I  could  find.  I  heard  hallooing  and 
whooping  all  around  me ;  sometimes  some  passed  very  near 
me,  and  I  could  hear  some  threaten  and  others  flatter  me,  but 
I  was  not  disposed  to  dance.  If  they  had  come  upon  me,  I 
had  resolved  to  show  them  a  pair  of  heels,  and  they  must  have 
had  good  luck  to  have  catched  me.  I  heard  no  more  of  them 
till  about  evening,  for  I  think  I  slept,  when  they  came  again, 
calling,  "  Chon !  Chon ! "  but  John  would  not  trust  them. 
After  they  were  gone,  my  master  and  his  squaw  caine  where 
they  told  me  to  hide,  but  could  not  find  me ;  and,  when  I  heard 
them  say,  with  some  concern,  they  believed  the  other  Indians 
had  frightened  me  into  the  woods,  and  that  I  was  lost,  I  came 
out,  and  they  seemed  well  pleased.  They  told  me  Jarnes  had 
had  a  bad  day  of  it ;  that  as  soon  as  he  was  released  he  ran 
away  into  the  woods,  and  they  believed  he  was  gone  to  the 
Mohawks.  James  soon  returned,  and  gave  a  melancholy  ac 
count  of  his  sufferings,  and  the  Indians's  fright  concerning  the 
Mohawks  passed  over.  They  often  had  terrible  apprehensions 
of  the  incursions  of  those  Indians.  They  are  called  also  Ma- 
8 


86  JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY. 


,  a  most  ambitious,  haughty  and  blood-thirsty  people,  from 
whom  the  other  Indians  take  their  measures  and  manners,  and 
their  modes  and  changes  of  dress,  &c.  One  very  hot  season, 
a  great  number  gathered  together  at  the  village,  and  being  a 
very  droughty  [thirsty]  people,  they  kept  James  and  myself 
night  and  day  fetching  water  from  a  cold  spring,  that  ran  out 
of  a  rocky  hill  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  fort.  In 
going  thither,  we  crossed  a  large  interval  cornfield,  and  then  a 
descent  to  a  lower  interval,  before  we  ascend-ed  the  hill  to  the 
spring.  James  being  almost  dead,  as  well  as  I,  with  this  con 
tinual  fatigue,  contrived  to  frighten  the  Indians.  He  told  me  of 
his  plan,  but  conjured  me  to  secrecy,  yet  said  he  knew  I  could 
keep  counsel  !  The  next  dark  night,  James,  going  for  water, 
set  his  kettle  down  on  the  descent  to  the  lowest  interval,  and 
running  back  to  the  fort,  puffing  and  blowing  as  though  in  the 
utmost  surprise,  told  his  master  that  he  saw  something  near 
the  spring  that  looked  like  Mohawks,  (which  were  only  stumps.) 
His  master,  being  a  most  courageous  warrior,  went  with  him 
to  make  discovery.  When  they  came  to  the  brow  of  the  hill, 
James  pointed  to  the  stumps,  and  withal  touching  his  kettle 
with  his  toe,  gave  it  motion  down  the  hill  ;  at  every  turn  its 
bail  clattered,  which  caused  James  and  his  master  to  see  a 
Mohawk  in  every  stump,  and  they  lost  no  time  in  "  turning 
tail  to,"  and  he  was  the  best  fellow  who  could  run  the  fastest. 
This  alarmed  all  the  Indians  in  the  village.  They  were  about 
thirty  or  forty  in  number,  and  they  packed  off,  bag  and 
baggage,  some  up  the  river  and  others  down,  and  did  not 
return  under  fifteen  days  ;  and  then  the  heat  of  the  weather 
being  finally  over,  our  hard  service  was  abated  for  this  season. 
I  never  heard  that  the  Indians  understood  the  occasion  of  their 
fright  ;  but  James  and  I  had  many  a  private  laugh  about  it. 

But  my  most  intimate  and  dear  companion  was  one  John 
Evans,  a  young  man  taken  from  Quochecho.  We,  as  often  as 
we  could,  met  together,  and  made  known  our  grievances  to 
each  other,  which  seemed  to  ease  our  minds  ;  but,  as  soon  as 
it  was  known  by  the  Indians,  we  were  strictly  examined  apart, 
and  falsely  accused  of  contriving  to  desert.  We  were  too  far 
from  the  sea  to  have  any  thought  of  that,  and  finding  our  sto 
ries  agreed,  did  not  punish  us.  An  English  captive  girl  about 
this  time,  who  was  taken  by  Medocawando,  would  often  false 
ly  accuse  us  of  plotting  to  desert;  but  we  made  the  truth  so 
plainly  appear,  that  she  was  checked  and  we  were  released. 
But  the  third  winter  of  my  captivity,  John  Evans  went  into 
the  country,  and  the  Indians  imposed  a  heavy  burden  on  him, 
while  he  was  extremely  weak  from  long  fasting  ;  and  as  he 
was  going  off  the  upland  over  a  place  of  ice,  which  was  very 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  87 

hollow,  he  broke  through,  fell  down,  and  cut  his  knee  very 
much.  Notwithstanding,  he  travelled  for  some  time,  but  the 
wind  and  cold  were  so  forcible,  that  they  soon  overcame  him, 
and  he  sat  or  fell  down,  and  all  the  Indians  passed  by  him. 
Some  of  them  went  back  the  next  day  after  him,  or  his  pack, 
and  found  him,  with  a  dog  in  his  arms,  both  frozen  to  death. 
Thus  all  of  my  fellow-captives  were  dispersed  and  dead,  but 
through  infinite  and  unmerited  goodness  I  was  supported  un 
der  and  carried  through  all  difficulties. 

CHAPTER  III. — Of  further  difficulties  and  deliverances.  One 
winter,  as  we  were  moving  from  place  to  place,  our  hunters 
killed  some  moose.  One  lying  some  miles  from  our  wig 
wams,  a  young  Indian  and  myself  were  ordered  to  fetch  part 
of  it.  We  set  out  in  the  morning,  when  the  weather  was 
promising,  but  it  proved  a  very  cold,  cloudy  day.  It  was  late 
in  the  evening  before  we  arrived  at  the  place  where  the  moose 
lay,  so  that  we  had  no  time  to  provide  materials  for  fire  or 
shelter.  At  the  same  time  came  on  a  storm  of  snow,  very 
thick,  which  continued  until  the  next  morning.  We  made  a 
small  fire  with  what  little  rubbish  we  could  find  around  us. 
The  fire,  with  the  Warmth  of  our  bodies,  melted  the  snow  upon, 
us  as  fast  as  it  fell ;  and  so  our  clothes  were  filled  with  water. 
However,  early  in  the  morning  we  took  our  loads  of  moose 
flesh,  and  set  out  to  return  to  our  wigwams.  We  had  not 
travelled  far  before  my  moose-skin  coat  (which  was  the  only 
garment  I  had  on  my  back,  and  the  hair  chiefly  worn  off)  was 
frozen  stiff  round  my  knees,  like  a  hoop,  as  were  my  snow- 
shoes  and  shoe-clouts  to  my  feet.  Thus  I  marched  the  whole 
day  without  fire  or  food.  At  first  I  was  in  great  pain,  then 
my  flesh  became  numb,  and  at  times  I  felt  extremely  sick,  and 
thought  I  could  not  travel  one  foot  farther ;  but  I  wonderfully 
revived  again. 

After  long  travelling  I  felt  very  drowsy,  and  had  thoughts  of 
sitting  down,  which  had  I  done,  without  doubt  I  had  fallen 
on  my  final  sleep,  as  my  dear  companion,  Evans,  had  done 
before.  My  Indian  companion,  being  better  clothed,  had  left 
me  long  before.  Again  my  spirits  revived  as  much  as  if  I 
had  received  the  richest  cordial.  Some  hours  after  sunset  I 
reached  the  wigwam,  and  crawling  in  with  my  snow-shoes  on, 
the  Indians  cried  out,  "  The  captive  is  frozen  to  death  !"  They 
took  off  my  pack,  and  the  place  where  that  lay  against  my 
back  was  the  only  one  that  was  not  frozen.  They  cut  off  my 
shoes,  and  stripped  off  the  clouts  from  my  feet,  which  were  as 
void  of  feeling  as  any  frozen  flesh  could  be.  I  had  not  sat 
long  by  the  fire  before  the  blood  began  to  circulate,  and  my 


88  JOHN  GYLES'   CAPTIVITY. 

feet  to  my  ankles  turned  black,  and  swelled  with  bloody  blis 
ters,  and  were  inexpressibly  painful.  The  Indians  said  one 
to  another,  "  His  feet  will  rot,  and  he  will  die."  Yet  I  slept 
well  at  night.  Soon  after,  the  skin  came  off  my  feet  from  my 
ankles,  whole,  like  a  shoe,  leaving  iny  toes  naked,  without  a 
nail,  and  the  ends  of  my  great  toe  bones  bare,  which,  in  a  little 
time,  turned  black,  so  that  I  was  obliged  to  cut  the  first  joint 
off  with  my  knife.  The  Indians  gave  me  rags  to  bind  up  my 
feet,  and  advised  me  to  apply  fir  balsam,  but  withal  added  that 
they  believed  it  was  not  worth  while  to  use  means,  for  I  should 
certainly  die.  But,  by  the  use  of  my  elbows,  and  a  stick  in 
each  hand,  I  shoved  myself  along  as  I  sat  upon  the  ground 
over  the  snow  from  one  tree  to  another,  till  I  got  some  balsam. 
This  I  burned  in  a  clam-shell  till  it  was  of  a  consistence  like 
salve,  which  I  applied  to  my  feet  and  ankles,  and,  by  the  di 
vine  blessing,  within  a  week  I  could  go  about  upon  my  heels 
with  my  staff.  And,  through  God's  goodness,  we  had  pro 
visions  enough,  so  that  we  did  not  remove  under  ten  or  fifteen 
lays.  Then  the  Indians  made  two  little  hoops,  something  in 
ihe  form  of  a  snow-shoe,  and  sewing  them  to  my  feet,  I  was 
able  to  follow  them  in  their  tracks,  on  my  heels,  from  place  to 
place,  though  sometimes  half  leg  deep  in  snow  and  water, 
which  gave  me  the  most  acute  pain  imaginable ;  but  I  must 
walk  or  die.  Yet  within  a  year  my  feet  were  entirely  well; 
and  the  nails  came  on  my  great  toes,  so  that  a  very  critical  eye 
could  scarcely  perceive  any  part  missing,  or  that  they  had  been 
frozen  at  all. 

In  a  time  of  great  scarcity  of  provisions,  the  Indians  chased 
a  large  moose  into  the  river,  and  killed  him.  They  brought 
the  flesh  to  the  village,  and  raised  it  on  a  scaffold,  in  a  large 
wigwam,  in  order  to  make  a  feast.  I  was  very  officious  in 
supplying  them  with  wood  and  water,  which  pleased  them  so 
well  that  they  now  and  then  gave  me  a  piece  of  flesh  half 
boiled  or  roasted,  which  I  ate  with  eagerness,  and  I  doubt  not 
without  due  thankfulness  to  the  divine  Being  who  so  extra 
ordinarily  fed  me.  At  length  the  scaffold  bearing  the  moose 
meat  broke,  and  I  being  under  it,  a  large  piece  fell,  and  knock 
ed  me  on  the  head.5*  The  Indians  said  I  lay  stunned  a  con 
siderable  time.  The  first  I  was  sensible  of  was  a  murmuring 
noise  in  my  ears,  then  my  sight  gradually  returned,  with  an 
extreme  pain  in  my  hand,  which  was  very  much  bruised ;  and 
it  was  long  before  I  recovered,  the  weather  being  very  hot. 

I  was  once  fishing  with  an  Indian  for  sturgeon,  and  the 
Indian  darting  one,  his  feet  slipped,  and  he  turned  the  canoe 

*  Whether  he  were  struck  by  a  timber  of  the  scaffold,  or  a  quantity  of 
the  meat  on  it,  we  are  left  to  conjecture,  and  it  is  not  very  material. — Ed. 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  89 

bottom  upward,  with  me  under  it.  I  held  fast  to  the  cross-bar, 
as  I  could  not  swim,  with  my  face  to  the  bottom  of  the  canoe ; 
but  turning  myself,  I  brought  my  breast  to  bear  on  the  cross 
bar,  expecting  every  minute  the  Indian  to  tow  me  to  the  bank. 
But  "  he  had  other  fish  to  fry."  Thus  I  continued  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  [though]  without  want  of  breath,  till  the  current 
drove  me  on  a  rocky  point  where  I  could  reach  bottom. 
There  1  stopped,  and  turned  up  my  canoe.  On  looking  about 
for  the  Indian,  I  saw  him  half  a  mile  off  up  the  river.  On 
going  to  him,  I  asked  him  why  he  had  not  towed  rne  to  the 
bank,  seeing  he  knew  I  could  not  swim.  He  said  he  knew  I 
was  under  the  canoe,  for  there  were  no  bubbles  any  where  to 
be  seen,  and  that  I  should  drive  on  the  point.  So  while  he  was 
taking  care  of  his  fine  sturgeon,  which  was  eight  or  ten  feet  in 
length,  I  was  left  to  sink  or  swim. 

Once,  as  we  were  fishing  for  salmon  at  a  fall  of  about  fifteen 
feet  of  water,  I  came  near  being  drownded  in  a  deep  hole  at 
the  foot  of  the  fall.  The  Indians  went  into  the  water  to  wash 
themselves,  and  asked  me  to  go  with  them.  I  told  them  I 
could  not  swim,  but  they  insisted,  and  so  I  went  in.  They 
ordered  me  to  dive  across  the  deepest  place,  and  if  I  fell  short 
of  the  other  side  they  said  they  would  help  me.  But,  instead 
of  diving  across  the  narrowest  part,  I  was  crawling  on  the  bot 
tom  into  the  deepest  place.  They  not  seeing  me  rise,  and 
knowing  whereabouts  I  was  by  the  bubbling  of  the  water,  a 
young  girl  dived  down,  and  brought  me  up  by  the  hair,  other 
wise  I  had  perished  in  the  water.  Though  the  Indians,  both 
male  and  female,  go  into  the  water  together,  they  have  each 
of  them  such  covering  on  that  not  the  least  indecency  can  be 
observed,  and  neither  chastity  nor  modesty  is  violated. 

While  at  the  Indian  village,  I  had  been  cutting  wood  and 
binding  it  up  with  an  Indian  rope,  in  order  to  carry  it  to  the 
wigwam ;  a  stout,  ill-natured  young  fellow,  about  twenty  years 
of  age,  threw  me  backward,  sat  on  my  breast,  pulled  out  his 
knife,  and  said  he  would  kill  me,  for  he  had  never  yet  killed 
one  of  the  English.  I  told  him  he  might  go  to  war,  and  that 
would  be  more  manly  than  to  kill  a  poor  captive  who  was  do 
ing  their  drudgery  for  them.  Notwithstanding  all  I  could  say, 
be  began  to  cut  and  stab  me  on  my  breast.  I  seized  him  by 
the  hair,  and  tumbling  him  off  of  me,  followed  him  with  my 
fists  and  knee  with  such  application  that  he  soon  cried 
"enough."  But  when  I  saw  the  blood  run  from  my  bosom,  and 
hh  the  smart  of  the  wounds  he  had  given  me,  I  at  him  again, 
and  bid  him  get  up,  and  not  lie  there  like  a  dog;  told  him  of 
his  former  abuses  offered  to  me,  and  other  poor  captives,  and 
that  if  ever  he  offered  the  like  to  me  again,  I  would  pay  him 
8* 


90  JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY. 

double.  I  sent  him  before  me,  and  taking  up  my  burden  of 
wood,  came  to  the  Indians,  and  told  them  the  whole  truth, 
and  they  commended  me.  And  I  do  not  remember  that  ever 
he  offered  me  the  least  abuse  afterwards,  though  he  was  big 
enough  to  have  despatched  two  of  me. 

CHAPTER  IV. — Of  remarkable  events  of  Providence  in  the 
deaths  of  several  barbarous  Indians.  The  priest  of  this  river 
was  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  a  gentleman  of  a  humane, 
generous  disposition.  In  his  sermons  he  most  severely  repre 
hended  the  Indians  for  their  barbarities  to  captives.  He  would 
often  tell  them  that,  excepting  their  errors  in  religion,  the  Eng 
lish  were  a  better  people  than  themselves,  and  that  God  would 
remarkably  punish  such  cruel  wretches,  and  had  begun  to  exe 
cute  his  vengeance  upon  such  already  !  He  gave  an  account 
of  the  retaliations  of  Providence  upon  those  murderous  Cape 
Sable  Indians  above  mentioned ;  one  of  whom  got  a  splinter 
into  his  foot,  which  festered  and  rotted  his  flesh  till  it  killed 
him.  Another  run  a  fish-bone  into  her  hand  or  arm,  and  she 
rotted  to  death,  notwithstanding  all  means  that  were  used  to 
prevent  it.  In  some  such  manner  they  all  died,  so  that  not 
one  of  those  two  families  lived  to  return  home.^  Were  it  not 
for  these  remarks  of  the  priest,  I  had  not,  perhaps,  have  noticed 
these  providences. 

There  was  an  old  squaw  who  ever  endeavored  to  outdo  all 
others  in  cruelty  to  captives.  Wherever  she  came  into  a  wig 
wam,  where  any  poor,  naked,  starved  captives  were  sitting 
near  the  fire,  if  they  were  grown  persons,  she  would  stealthily 
take  up  a  shovel  of  hot  coals,  and  throw  them  into  their  bo 
soms.  If  they  were  young  persons,  she  would  seize  them  by 
the  hand  or  leg,  drag  them  through  the  fire,  &c.  The  Indians 
with  whom  she  lived,  according  to  their  custom,  left  their  vil 
lage  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  dispersed  themselves  for  hunt 
ing1.  After  the  first  or  second  removal,  they  all  strangely  forgot 
that  old  squaw  and  her  grandson,  about  twelve  years  of  age. 
They  were  found  dead  in  the  place  where  they  were  left  some 
months  afterwards,  and  no  farther  notice  was  taken  of  them 
by  their  friends.  Of  this  the  priest  made  special  remark,  for 
asmuch  as  it  is  a  thing  very  uncommon  for  them  to  neglect 
either  their  old  or  young  people. 

In  the  latter  part  of  summer,  or  beginning  of  autumn,  the 
Indians  were  frequently  frightened  by  the  appearance  of 

*  Reference  is  probably  had  to  those  Indians,  of  whom  the  author  has 
before  spoken,  as  having  come  to  the  fort  of  those  with  whom  he  was 
among,  to  be  revenged  on  any  whites  for  the  loss  of  some  of  their  friends 
who  had  been  killed  by  white  fishermen. — Ed. 


JOHN  GYLES'   CAPTIVITY.  91 

strange  Indians,  passing  up  and  down  this  river  in  canoes, 
and  about  that  time  the  next  year  died  more  than  one  hun 
dred  persons,  old  and  young  ;  all,  or  most  of  those  who  saw 
those  strange  Indians  !  The  priest  said  it  was  a  sort  of  plague. 
A  person  seeming  in  perfect  health  would  bleed  at  the  mouth 
and  nose,  turn  blue  in  spots,  and  die  in  two  or  three  hours. * 
It  was  very  tedious  to  me  to  remove  from  place  to  place  this 
cold  season.  The  Indians  applied  red  ochre  to  my  sores, 
[which  had  been  occasioned  by  the  affray  before  mentioned,] 
which  by  God's  blessing  cured  me.  This  sickness  being  at 
the  worst  as  winter  came  on,  the  Indians  all  scattered  ;  and  the 
blow  was  so  great  to  them,  that  they  did  not  settle  or  plant  at 
their  village  while  I  was  on  the  river,  [St.  Johns,]  and  I  know 
not  whether  they  have  to  this  day.  Before  they  thus  deserted 
the  village,  when  they  came  in  from  hunting,  they  would  be  drunk 
and  fight  for  several  days  and  nights  together,  till  they  had  spent 
most  of  their  skins  in  wine  and  brandy,  which  was  brought  to 
the  village  by  a  Frenchman  called  Monsieur  Sigenioncour. 

CHAPTER  V. — Of  their  familiarity  with  and  frights  from 
the  devil,  &c.  The  Indians  are  very  often  surprised  with  the 
appearance  of  ghosts  and  demons.  Sometimes  they  are  en 
couraged  by  the  devil,  for  they  go  to  him  for  success  in  hunt 
ing,  &c.  I  was  once  hunting  with  Indians  who  were  not 
brought  over  to  the  Romish  faith,  and  after  several  days  they 
proposed  to  inquire,  according  to  their  custom,  what  success 
they  should  have.  They  accordingly  prepared  many  hot 
stones,  and  laying  them  in  a  heap,  made  a  small  hut  covered 
with  skins  and  mats  ;  then  in  a  dark  night  two  of  the  powwows 
went  into  this  hot  house  with  a  large  vessel  of  water,  which 
at  times  they  poured  on  those  hot  rocks,  which  raised  a  thick 
steam,  so  that  a  third  Indian  was  obliged  to  stand  without,  and 
lift  up  a  mat,  to  give  it  vent  when  they  were  almost  suffocated. 
There  was  an  old  squaw  who  was  kind  to  captives,  and  never 
joined  with  them  in  their  powwowing,  to  whom  I  manifested 
an  earnest  desire  to  see  their  management.  She  told  me  that 
if  they  knew  of  my  being  there  they  would  kill  me,  and  that 
when  she  was  a  girl  she  had  known  young  persons  to  be 
taken  away  by  a  hairy  man,  and  therefore  she  would  not  advise 
me  to  go,  lest  the  hairy  man  should  carry  me  away.  I  told 

*  Calamitous  mortalities  are  often  mentioned  as  happening  among  the 
Indians,  but  that  the  appearance  of  strange' Indians  had  any  thing  to  do 
with  it,  will  only  excite  admiration  to  the  enlightened  of  this  age.  It  was 
by  a  mortality  something  similar  that  the  country  about  the  coast  of 
Massachusetts  was  nearly  depopulated  two  or  three  years  before  the  settle 
ment  of  Plymouth. — Ed. 


92  JOHN  GYLES'   CAPTIVITY. 

her  I  was  not  afraid  of  the  hairy  man,  nor  could  he  hurt  me  if 
she  would  not  discover  me  to  the  powwows.  At  length  she 
promised  me  she  would  not,  but  charged  me  to  be  careful  of 
myself.  I  went  within  three  or  four  feet  of  the  hot  house,  for 
it  was  very  dark,  and  heard  strange  noises  and  yellings,  such 
as  I  never  heard  before.  At  times  the  Indian  who  tended 
without  would  lift  up  the  mat,  and  a  steam  would  issue  which 
looked  like  fire.  I  lay  there  two  or  three  hours,  but  saw  none 
of  their  hairy  men,  or  demons.  And  when  I  found  they  had 
finished  their  ceremony,  I  went  to  the  wigwam,  and  told  the 
squaw  what  had  passed.  She  was  glad  I  had  escaped  without 
hurt,  and  never  discovered  what  I  had  done.  After  some  time 
inquiry  was  made  of  the  powwows  what  success  we  were 
likely  to  have  in  our  hunting.  They  said  they  had  very 
likely  signs  of  success,  but  no  real  ones  as  at  other  times.  A 
few  days  after  we  moved  up  the  river,  and  had  pretty  good 
luck. 

One  afternoon  as  I  was  in  a  canoe  with  one  of  the  pow 
wows  the  dog  barked,  and  presently  a  moose  passed  by  within 
a  few  rods  of  us,  so  that  the  waves  he  made  by  wading  rolled 
our  canoe.  The  Indian  shot  at  him,  but  the  moose  took  very 
little  notice  of  it,  and  went  into  the  woods  to  the  southward. 
The  fellow  said,  "I  will  try  if  I  can't  fetch  you  back  for  all 
your  haste."  The  evening  following,  we  built  our  two  wig 
wams  on  a  sandy  point  on  the  upper  end  of  an  island  in  the 
river,  north-west  of  the  place  where  the  moose  went  into  the 
woods  ;  and  here  the  Indian  powwowed  the  greatest  part  of 
the  night  following.  In  the  morning  we  had  a  fair  track  of  a 
moose  round  our  wigwams,  though  we  did  not  see  or  taste  of 
it.  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  devil  was  permitted  to  humor 
those  unhappy  wretches  sometimes,  in  some  things.^ 

That  it  may  appear  how  much  they  were  deluded,  or  under 
the  influence  of  satan,  read  the  two  stories  which  were  related 
and  believed  by  the  Indians.  The  first,  of  a  boy  who  was  car 
ried  away  by  a  large  bird  called  a  Gulloua,  who  buildeth  her 
nest  on  a  high  rock  or  mountain.  A  boy  was  hunting  with 
his  bow  and  arrow  at  the  foot  of  a  rocky  mountain,  when  the 
gulloua  came  diving  through  the  air,  grasped  the  boy  in  her 
talons,  and  although  he  was  eight  or  ten  years  of  age,  she 
soared  aloft  and  laid  him  in  her  nest,  food  for  her  young. 

*  Whatever  the  Indians  might  have  believed  about  the  devil,  one  thing 
Ls  pretty  clear,  that  our  captive  had  great  faith  in  his  abilities.  Quite  as 
easy  a  way  to  have  accounted  for  moose  tracks  about  their  wigwair., 
would  have  been  to  suppose  that  that  animal  might  have  been  attracted 
by  the  uncouth  noise  of  the  powwow  to  approach  them  lor  the  object  of 
discovery.  It  is  very  common  for  wild  animals  to  do  so.— Ed. 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  /      93 

The  boy  lay  still  on  his  face,  but  observed  two  of  the  young 
birds  in  the  nest  with  him,  having  much  fish  and  flesh  to  feed 
upon.  The  old  one  seeing  they  would  not  eat  the  boy,  took 
him  up  in  her  claws  and  returned  him  to  the  place  from  whence 
she  took  him.  I  have  passed  near  the  mountain  in  a  canoe, 
and  the  Indians  have  said,  "  There  is  the  nest  of  the  great  bird 
that  carried  away  the  boy."  Indeed  there  seemed  to  be  a  gr^at 
number  of  sticks  put  together  like  a  nest  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain.  At  another  time  they  said,  "  There  is  the  bird,  but 
he  is  now  as  a  boy  to  a  giant  to  what  he  was  in  former  days." 
The  bird  which  we  saw  was  a  large  and  speckled  one;  like  an 
eagle,  though  somewhat  larger.*' 

When  from  the  mountain  tops,  with  hideous  cry 

And  clattering  wings,  the  hungry  harpies  fly, 

They  snatched         ..  *  *  * 

*         *         And  whether  gods  or  birds  obscene  they  were, 

Our  vows  for  pardon  and  for  peace  prefer. 

DRYDEN'S  VIRGIL. 

The  other  notion  is,  that  a  young  Indian  in  his  hunting  was 
belated,  and  losing  his  way,  was  on  a  sudden  introduced  to 
a  large  wigwam  full  of  dried  eels,  which  proved  to  be  a  bea 
ver's  house,  in  which  he  lived  till  the  spring  of  the  year,  when 
he  was  turned  out  of  the  house,  and  being  set  upon  a  beaver's 
dam,  went  home  and  related  the  affair  to  his  friends  at  large. 

CHAPTER  VI. — A  description  of  several  creatures  com 
monly  taken  by  the  Indians  on  St.  John's  river. 

I.  OF  THE  BEAVER. — The  beaver  has  a  very  thick,  strong 
neck ;  his  fore  teeth,  which  are  two  in  the  upper  and  two  in 
the  under  jaw,  are  concave  and  sharp  like  a  carpenter's  gouge. 
Their  side  teeth  are  like  a  sheep's,  for  they  chew  the  cud. 
Their  legs  are  short,  the  claws  something  longer  than  in 
other  creatures.  The  nails  on  the  toes  of  their  hind  feet 
are  flat  like  an  ape's,  but  joined  together  by  a  membrane,  as 
those  of  the  water-fowl,  their  tails  broad  and  flat  like  the  broad 
end  of  a  paddle.  Near  their  tails  they  have  four  bottles,  two 
of  which  contain  oil,  the  others  gum  ;  the  necks  of  these  meet 
in  one  common  orifice.  The  latter  of  these  bottles  contain  the 
proper  castorum,  and  not  the  testicles,  as  some  have  fancied, 
for  they  are  distinct  and  separate  from  them,  in  the  males  only  ; 

*  Not  exactly  &fish  story,  but  it  is  certainly  a  bird  story,  and  although  Mr. 
Gyles  has  fortified  himself  behind  "believed  by  the  Indians,"  yet  I  fear 
his  reputation  for  credulity  will  be  somewhat  enhanced  in  the  mind  of 
the  reader.  I  think,  however,  it  should  not  derogate  from  his  character 
for  veracity 


J4  JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY. 

whereas  the  castorum  and  oil  bottles  are  common  to  male  and 
female.  With  this  oil  and  gum  they  preen  themselves,  so 
that  when  they  come  out  of  the  water  it  runs  off  of  them,  as 
it  does  from  a  fowl.  They  have  four  teats,  which  are  on  their 
breasts,  so  that  they  hug  up  their  young  and  suckle  them,  as 
women  do  their  infants.  They  have  generally  two,  and  some 
times  four  in  a  litter.  I  have  seen  seven  or  five  in  the  matrix, 
but  the  Indians  think  it  a  strange  thing  to  find  so  many  in  a 
litter ;  and  they  assert  that  when  it  so  happens  the  dam  kills 
all  but  four.  They  are  the  most  laborious  creatures  that  1 
have  met  with.  I  have  known  them  to  build  dams  across  a 
river,  thirty  or  forty  perches  wide,  with  wood  and  mud,  so  as 
to  flow  many  acres  of  land.  In  the  deepest  part  of  a  pond  so 
raised,  they  build  their  houses,  round,  in  the  figure  of  an  Indian 
wigwam,  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  and  six  or  eight  in  diameter 
on  the  floor,  which  is  made  descending  to  the  water,  the  parts 
near  the  centre  about  four,  and  near  the  circumference  between 
ten  and  twenty  inches  above  the  water.  These  floors  are  cov 
ered  with  strippings  of  wood,  like  shavings.  On  these  they 
sleep  with  their  tails  in  the  water  ;*  and  if  the  freshets  rise,  they 
have  the  advantage  of  rising  on  their  floor  to  the  highest  part. 
They  feed  on  the  leaves  and  bark  of  trees,  and  pond  lily 
roots.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  they  lay  in  their  provision  for 
the  approaching  winter ;  cutting  down  trees  great  and  small. 
With  one  end  in  their  mouths  they  drag  their  branches  near  to 
their  house,  and  sink  many  cords  of  it.  (They  will  cut  [gnaw] 
down  trees  of  a  fathom  in  circumference.)  They  have  doors 
to  go  down  to  the  wood  under  the  ice.  And  in  case  the  fresh 
ets  rise,  break  down  and  carry  off  their  store  of  wood,  they 
often  starve.  They  have  a  note  for  conversing,  calling  and 
warning  each  other  when  at  work  or  feeding ;  and  while  they 
are  at  labor  they  keep  out  a  guard,  who  upon  the  first  approach 
of  an  enemy  so  strikes  the  water  with  his  tail  that  he  may 
be  heard  half  a  mile.  This  so  alarms  the  rest  that  they  are 
all  silent,  quit  their  labor,  and  are  to  be  seen  no  more  for  that 
time.  If  the  male  or  female  die,  the  survivor  seeks  a  mate, 
and  conducts  him  or  her  to  their  house,  and  carry  on  affairs  as 
above. 

II.  OF  THE  WOLVERENE.  [Gulo  Luscus  of  L.]  The  wol 
verene  is  a  very  fierce  and  mischievous  creature,  about  the 
bigness  of  a  middling  dog ;  having  short  legs,  broad  feet  and 

*  1  recollect  to  have  seen  a  similar  statement  by  that  singular  genins 
THOMAS  MORTON,  of  Mare  Mount,  in  his  more  singular  book,  NEW  ENG 
LISH  CANAAN,  about  beavers  keeping  their  tails  in  the  water.  Morton, 
however,  tells  us  the  reason  they  do  so,  viz.  "which  tlst  would  overheat  and 
rot  o.v— Ed. 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  95 

very  sharp  claws,  and  in  my  opinion  may  be  reckoned  a  spe 
cies  of  cat.  They  will  climb  trees  and  wait  for  moose  and 
other  animals  which  feed  below,  and  when  opportunity  pre 
sents,  jump  upon  and  strike  their  claws  in  them  so  fast  that 
they  will  hang  on  them  till  they  have  gnawed  the  main  nerve 
in  their  neck  asunder,  which  causes  their  death.  I  have 
known  many  moose  killed  thus.  I  was  once  travelling  a  little 
way  behind  several  Indians,  and  hearing  them  laugh  merrily, 
when  I  came  up  I  asked  them  the  cause  of  their  laughter. 
They  showed  me  the  track  of  a  moose,  and  how  a  wolverene 
had  climbed  a  tree,  and  where  he  had  jumped  off  upon  a 
moose.  It  so  happened,  that  after  the  moose  had  taken  seve 
ral  large  leaps,  it  came  under  the  branch  of  a  tree,  which  strik 
ing  the  wolverene,  broke  his  hold  and  tore  him  off;  and  by 
his  tracks  in  the  snow  it  appeared  he  went  off  another  way, 
with  short  steps,  as  if  he  had  been  stunned  by  the  blow  that 
had  broken  his  hold.  The  Indians  imputed  the  accident  to 
the  cunning  of  the  moose,  and  were  wonderfully  pleased  that 
it  had  thus  outwitted  the  mischievous  wolverene. 

These  wolverenes  go  into  wigwams  which  have  been  left 
for  a  time,  scatter  the  things  abroad,  and  most  filthily  pollute 
them  with  ordure.  I  have  heard  the  Indians  say  that  this  ani 
mal  has  sometimes  pulled  their  guns  from  under  their  heads 
while  they  were  asleep,  and  left  them  so  defiled.  An  Indian 
told  me  that  having  left  his  wigwam  with  sundry  things  on 
the  scaffold,  among  which  was  a  birchen  flask  containing  seve 
ral  pounds  of  powder,  he  found  at  his  return,  much  to  his  sur 
prise  and  grief,  that  a  wolverene  had  visited  it,  mounted  the 
scaffold,  hove  down  bag  and  baggage.  The  powder  flask  hap 
pening  to  fall  into  the  fire,  exploded,  blowing  up  the  wolverene, 
and  scattering  the  wigwam  in  all  directions.  At  length  he 
found  the  creature,  blind  from  the  blast,  wandering  backward 
and  forward,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  kicking  and  beat 
ing  him  about !  This  in  a  great  measure  made  up  their  loss, 
and  then  they  could  contentedly  pick  up  their  utensils  and  rig 
out  their  wigwam. 

III.  OF  THE  HEDGEHOG,  [Histrix  Dorsata,]  or  URCHIN, 
[Urson?]  Our  hedgehog  or  urchin  is  about  the  bigness  of  a 
hog  of  six  months  old.  His  back,  sides  and  tail  are  full  of 
sharp  quilh,  so  that  if  any  creature  approach  him,  he  will  con 
tract  himself  into  a  globular  form,  and  when  touched  by  his 
enemy,  his  quills  are  so  sharp  and  loose  in  the  skin  they  fix  in 
the  mouth  of  the  adversary.  They  will  strike  with  great  force 
with  their  tails,  so  that  whatever  falls  under  the  lash  of  them 
are  certainly  filled  with  their  prickles ;  but  that  they  shoot 
their  quills,  as  some  assert  they  do,  is  a  great  mistake,  as  re- 


i 

J 


98  JOHN  GfLES'  CAPTFVIIY. 

spects  the  American  hedgehog,  and  I  believe  as  to  the  Afri 
can  hedgehog  or  porcupine,  also.  As  to  the  former,  I  have 
taken  them  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

IV.  OF  THE  TORTOISE.  It  is  needless  to  describe  the  fresh 
water  tortoise,  whose  form  is  so  well  known  in  all -parts ;  but 
their  manner  of  propagating  their  species  is  not  so  universally 
known.  I  have  observed  that  sort  of  tortoise  whose  shell  is 
about  fourteen  or  sixteen  inches  wide.  In  their  coition  they 
may  be  heard  half  a  mile,  making  a  noise  like  a  woman  wash 
ing  her  linen  with  a  batting  staff.  They  lay  their  eggs  in  the 
sand,  near  some  deep,  still  water,  about  a  foot  beneath  the  sur 
face  of  the  sand,  with  which  they  are  very  curious  in  covering 
them;  so  that  there  is  not  the  least  mixture  of  it  amongst 
them,  nor  the  least  rising  of  sand  on  the  beach  where  they  are 
deposited.  I  have  often  searched  for  them  with  the  Indians, 
by  thrusting  a  stick  into  the  sand  at  random,  and  brought  up 
some  part  of  an  egg  clinging  to  it ;  when,  uncovering  the  place, 
we  have  found  near  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  one  nest.  Both 
their  eggs  and  flesh  are  good  eating  when  boiled.  I  have 
observed  a  difference  as  to  the  length  of  time  in  which  they 
are  hatching,  which  is  between  twenty  and  thirty  days ;  some 
sooner  than  others.  Whether  this  difference  ought  to  be  im 
puted  to  the  various  quality  or  site  of  the  sand  in  which  they 
are  laid,  (as  to  the  degree  of  cold  or  heat,)  I  leave  to  the  con 
jecture  of  the  virtuosi.  As  soon  as  they  are  hatched,  the 
young  tortoise  breaks  through  the  sand  and  betake  themselves 
to  the  water,  and,  as  far  as  I  could  discover,  without  any  fur 
ther  care  or  help  of  the  old  ones. 

CHAPTER  VII. — Of  their  feasting.  1.  Before  they  go  to 
war.  When  the  Indians  determine  on  war,  or  are  entering 
upon  a  particular  expedition,  they  kill  a  number  of  their  dogs, 
burn  off  their  hair  and  cut  them  to  pieces,  leaving  only  one 
dog's  head  whole.  The  rest  of  the  flesh  they  boil,  and  make 
a  fine  feast  of  it.  Then  the  dog's  head  that  was  left  whole  is 
scorched,  till  the  nose  and  lips  have  shrunk  from  the  teeth, 
leaving  them  bare  and  grinning.  This  done,  they  fasten  it  on 
a  stick,  and  the  Indian  who  is  proposed  to  be  chief  in  the  expe 
dition  takes  the  head  into  his  hand,  and  sings  a  warlike  song, 
in  which  he  mentions  the  town  they  design  to  attack,  and  the 
principal  man  in  it ;  threatening  that  in  a  few  days  he  will 
carry  that  man's  head  and  scalp  in  his  hand,  in  the  same  man 
ner.  When  the  chief  ha?  finished  singing,  he  so  places  the 
door's  head  as  to  grin  at  him  who  he  supposes  will  go  his 
second,  who,  if  he  accepts,  takes  the  head  in  his  hand  and 
sings  ;  but  if  he  refuses  to  go,  he  turns  the  teeth  to  another ; 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  97 

and  thus  from  one  to  another  till  they  have  enlisted  their  com 
pany. 

The  Indians  imagine  that  dog's  flesh  makes  them  bold  and 
courageous.  I  have  seen  an  Indian  split  a  dog's  head  with  a 
hatchet,  take  out  the  brains  hot,  and  eat  them  raw  with  the 
blood  running  down  his  jaws  ! 

2.  When  a  relation  dies.  In  a  still  evening,  a  squaw 
will  walk  on  the  highest  land  near  her  abode,  and  with  a 
loud  and  mournful  voice  will  exclaim,  "  Oh  hawe,  hawe,  haive" 
with  a  long,  mournful  tone  to  each  hawe,  for  a  long  time 
together.  After  the  mourning  season  is  over,  the  relations  of 
the  deceased  make  a  feast  to  wipe  off  tears,  and  the  bereaved 
may  rnarry  freely.  If  the  deceased  was  a  squaw,  the  relations 
consult  together,  and  choose  a  squaw,  (doubtless  a  widow,)  and 
send  her  to  the  widower,  and  if  he  likes  her  he  takes  her 
to  be  his  wife,  if  not,  he  sends  her  back,  and  the  relations 
choose  and  send  till  they  find  one  that  he  approves  of. 

If  a  young  fellow  determines  to  marry,  his  relations  and  the 
Jesuit  advise  him  to  a  girl.  He  goes  into  the  wigwam  where 
she  is,  and  looks  on  her.  If  he  likes  her  appearance,  he  tosses 
a  chip  or  stick  into  her  lap,  which  she  takes,  and  with  a 
reserved,  side  look,  views  the  person  who  sent  it;  yet  handles 
the  chip  with  admiration,  as  though  she  wondered  from  whence 
it  came.  If  she  likes  him  she  throws  the  chip  to  him  with  a 
modest  smile,  and  then  nothing  is  wanting  but  a  ceremony  with 
the  Jesuit  to  consummate  the  marriage.  But  if  she  dislikes 
her  suitor,  she,  with  a  surly  countenance,  throws  the  chip  aside, 
and  he  comes  no  more  there. 

If  parents  have  a  daughter  marriageable  they  seek  a  hus 
band  for  her  who  is  a  good  hunter.  If  she  has  been  educated 
to  make  monoodah,  (Indian  bags,)  birch  dishes,  to  lace  snow- 
shoes,  make  Indian  shoes,  string  wampum  belts,  sew  birch 
canoes,  and  boil  the  kettle,  she  is  esteemed  a  lady  of  fine 
accomplishments.  If  the  man  sought  out  for  her  husband 
have  a  gun  and  ammunition,  a  canoe,  spear,  and  hatchet,  a 
monoodah,  a  crooked  knife,  looking-glass  and  paint,  a  pipe, 
tobacco,  and  knot-bowl  to  toss  a  kind  of  dice  in,  he  is  accounted 
a  gentleman  of  a  plentiful  fortune.  Whatever  the  new-married 
man  procures  the  first  year  belongs  to  his  wife's  parents.  If 
the  young  pair  have  a  child  within  a  year  and  nine  months 
they  are  thought  to  be  very  forward  and  libidinous  persons, 

By  their  play  with  dice  they  lose  much  time,  playing  whole 
days  and  nights  together;  sometimes  staking  their  whole 
effects ;  though  this  is  accounted  a  great  vice  by  the  old  men. 

A  digression. — There  is  an  old  story  told  among  the  Indians 
of  a  family  who  had  a  daughter  that  was  accounted  a  finished 


98  JOHN  GYLES'   CAPTIVITY. 

beauty,  having  been  adorned  with  the  precious  jewel,  an  Indian 
education  !  She  was  so  formed  by  nature,  and  polished  by  art, 
that  they  could  not  find  for  her  a  suitable  consort.  At  length, 
while  this  family  were  once  residing  upon  the  head  of  Penob- 
scot  river,  under  the  White  hills,  called  Teddon,  this  fine  crea 
ture  was  missing,  and  her  parents  could  learn  no  tidings  of  her. 
After  much  time  and  pains  spent,  and  tears  showered  in  quest 
of  her,  they  saw  her  diverting  herself  with  a  beautiful  youth, 
whose  hair,  like  her  own,  flowed  down  below  his  waist,  swim 
ming,  washing,  &c.,  in  the  water;  but  they  vanished  upon 
their  approach.  This  beautiful  person,  whom  they  imagined 
to  be  one  of  those  kind  spirits  who  inhabit  the  Teddon,  they 
looked  upon  as  their  son-in-law;  and,  according  to  their 
custom,  they  called  upon  him  for  moose,  bear,  or  whatever 
creature  they  desired,  and  if  they  did  but  go  to  the  water-side 
and  signify  their  desire,  the  animal  would  come  swimming  to 
them  !  I  have  heard  an  Indian  say  that  he  lived  by  the  river, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Teddon,  the  top  of  which  he  could  see  through 
the  hole  of  his  wigwam  left  for  the  smoke  to  pass  out.  He 
was  tempted  to  travel  to  it,  and  accordingly  set  out  on  a  sum 
mer  morning,  and  labored  hard  in  ascending  the  hill  all  day, 
and  the  top  seemed  as  distant  from  the  place  where  he  lodged 
at  night  as  from  his  wigwam,  where  he  began  his  journey.  He 
now  concluded  the  spirits  were  there,  and  never  dared  to  make 
a  second  attempt. 

I  have  been  credibly  informed  that  several  others  have  failed 
in  like  attempts.  Once  three  young  men  climbed  towards  its 
summit  three  days  and  a  half,  at  the  end  of  which  time  they 
became  strangely  disordered  with  delirium,  &c.,  and  when 
their  imagination  was  clear,  and  they  could  recollect  where 
they  were,  they  found  themselves  returned  one  day's  journey. 
How  they  came  to  be  thus  transported  they  could  not  conjec 
ture,  unless  the  genii  of  the  place  had  conveyed  them.  These 
White  hills,  at  the  head  of  Penobscot  river,  are,  by  the  Indians, 
said  to  be  much  higher  than  those  called  Agiockochook,  above 
Saco.^ 

But  to  return  to  an  Indian  feast,  of  which  you  may  request  a 
bill  of  fare  before  you  go.  If  you  dislike  it,  stay  at  home.  The 
ingredients  are  fish,  flesh,  or  Indian  corn,  and  beans  boiled 
together;  sometimes  hasty  pudding  made  of  pounded  corn, 
whenever  and  as  often  as  these  are  plenty.  An  Indian  boils 
four  or  five  large  kettles  full,  and  sends  a  messenger  to  each 
wigwam  door,  who  exclaims,  "  Kuh  mejiscoorebah  /"  that  is, 
"  I  come  to  conduct  you  to  a  feast."  The  man  within  demands 


*  Some  additions  to  these  traditions  will  be  found  in  the  Book  of  the  In 
dians,  iii.  131.— Ed. 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  99 

whether  he  must  take  a  spoon  or  a  knife  in  his  dish,  which  he 
always  carries  with  him.  They  appoint  two  or  three  young 
men  to  mess  it  out,  to  each  man  his  portion,  according  to  the 
number  of  his  family  at  home.  This  is  done  with  the  utmost 
exactness.  When  they  have  done  eating,  a  young  fellow  stands 
without  the  door,  and  cries  aloud,  "  Mensecommook"  "  come  an$ 
fetch!"  Immediately  each  squaw  goes  to  her  husband  an<l 
takes  what  he  has  left,  which  she  carries  home  and  eats  with 
her  children.  For  neither  married  women,  nor  any  youth 
under  twenty,  are  allowed  to  be  present;  but  old  widow 
squaws  and  captive  men  may  sit  by  the  door.  The  Indian 
men  continue  in  the  wigwam;  some  relating  their  warlike 
exploits,  others  something  comical,  others  narrating  their 
hunting  exploits.  The  seniors  give  maxims  of  -prudence  and 
grave  counsel  to  the  young  men ;  and  though  every  one's 
speech  be  agreeable  to  the  run  of  his  own  fancy,  yet  they  con 
fine  themselves  to  rule,  and  but  one  speaks  at  a  time.  After 
every  man  has  told  his  story,  one  rises  up,  sings  a  feast  song, 
and  others  succeed  alternately  as  the  company  sees  fit. 

Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention.  If  an  Indian  loses  his 
fire,  he  can  presently  take  two  sticks,  one  harder  than  the 
other,  (the  drier  the  better,)  and  in  the  softest  one  make  a  hoi* 
low,  or  socket,  in  which  one  end  of  the  hardest  stick  being 
inserted,  then  holding  the  softest  piece  firm  between  his  knees, 
whirls  it  round  like  a  drill,  and  fire  will  kindle  in  a  few 
minutes. 

If  they  have  lost  or  left  their  kettle,  it  is  but  putting  thejr 
victuals  into  a  birch  dish,  leaving  a  vacancy  in  the  middle, 
filling  it  with  water,  and  putting  in  hot  stones  alternately; 
they  will  thus  thoroughly  boil  the  toughest  neck  of  beef. 

CHAPTER.  VIII. — Of  my  three  years  captivity  with  the 
French. — When  about  six  years  of  my  doleful  captivity  ha4 
passed,  my  second  Indian  master  died,  whose  squaw  and  my 
first  Indian  master  disputed  whose  slave  I  should  be.  Some 
malicious  persons  advised  them  to  end  the  quarrel  by  putting 
a  period  to  my  life  ;  but  honest  father  Simon,  the  priest  of  the 
river,  told  them  that  it  would  be  a  heinous  crime,  and  advised 
them  to  sell  me  to  the  French.  There  came  annually  one  <ff 
two  men  of  war  to  supply  the  fort,  which  was  on  the  river 
about  34  leagues  from  the  sea.  The  Indians  having  advice of 
the  arrival  of  a  man  of  war  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  they, 
about  thirty  or  forty  in  number,  went  on  board  ;  for  the  gentle 
men  from  France  made  a  present  to  them  every  year,  and  set 
forth  the  riches  and  victories  of  their  monarch,  &c.  At  thjfl 
time  they  presented  the  Indians  with  a  bag  or  two  of  flour  with 


100  JOHN  GYLES'    CAPTIVITY 

some  prunes,  as  ingredients  for  a  feast.  I,  wno  was  dressed 
up  in  an  old  greasy  blanket,  without  cap,  hat,  or  shirt,  (for  I 
had  had  no  shirt  for  the  six  years,  except  the  one  I  had  on  at 
the  time  I  was  made  prisoner,)  was  invited  into  the  great  cabin, 
where  many  well-rigged  gentlemen  were  sitting,  who  would 
fain  have  had  a  full  view  of  me.  I  endeavored  to  hide  myself 
behind  the  hangings,  for  I  was  much  ashamed;  thinking  how 
I  had  once  worn  clothes,  and  of  my  living  with  people  who 
could  rig  as  well  as  the  best  of  them.  My  master  asked  me 
whether  I  chose  to  be  sold  to  the  people  of  the  man  of  war,  or 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  country.  I  replied,  with  tears,  that 
I  should  be  glad  if  he  would  sell  me  to  the  English  from  whom 
I  was  taken  ;  but  that  if  I  must  be  sold  to  the  French,  I  wished 
to  be  sold  to  the  lowest  inhabitants  on  the  river,  or  those  near 
est  to  the  sea,  who  were  about  twenty-five  leagues  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river;  for  I  thought  that,  if  I  were  sold  to  the 
gentlemen  in  the  ship,  I  should  never  return  to  the  English. 
This  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  the  sea  during  my  captivity, 
and  the  first  time  I  had  tasted  salt  or  bread. 

My  master  presently  went  on  shore,  and  a  few  days  after  all 
the  Indians  went  up  the  river.  When  we  came  to  a  house 
which  I  had  spoken  to  my  master  about,  he  went  on  shore 
with  me,  and  tarried  all  night.  The  master  of  the  house  spoke 
kindly  to  me  in  Indian,  for  I  could  not  then  speak  one  word  of 
French.  Madam  also  looked  pleasant  on  me,  and  gave  me 
some  bread.  The  next  day  I  was  sent  six  leagues  further  up 
the  river  to  another  French  house.  My  master  and  the  friar 
tarried  with  Monsieur  DechoufTour,  the  gentleman  who  had 
entertained  us  the  night  before.  Not  long  after,  father  Simon 
came  and  said,  "  Now  you  are  one  of  us,  for  you  are  sold  to 
that  gentleman  by  whom  you  were  entertained  the  other  night. 
I  replied,  "  Sold! — to  a  Frenchman!"  I  could  say  no  more, 
went  into  the  woods  alone,  and  wept  till  I  could  scarce  see  or 
stand !  The  word  sold,  and  that  to  a  people  of  that  persua 
sion  which  my  dear  mother  so  much  detested,  and  in  her  last 
words  manifested  so  great  fears  of  my  falling  into !  These 
thoughts  almost  broke  my  heart. 

When  I  had  thus  given  vent  to  my  grief  I  wiped  my  eyes, 
endeavoring  to  conceal  its  effects,  but  father  Simon,  perceiving 
my  eyes  were  swollen,  called  me  aside,  and  bidding  me  not  to 
grieve,  for  the  gentleman,  he  said,  to  whom  I  was  sold,  was  of 
a  good  humor ;  that  he  had  formerly  bought  two  captives, 
both  of  whom  had  been  sent  to  Boston.  This,  in  some  mea 
sure,  revived  me ;  but  he  added  he  did  not  suppose  I  would 
ever  wish  to  go  to  the  English,  for  the  French  religion  was  so 
much  better.  He  said,  also,  he  should  pass  that  way  in  about 


JOHN  GYLES'   CAPTIVITY.  101 

ten  days,  and  if  T  did  not  like  to  live  with  the  French  better 
than  with  the  Indians  he  would  buy  me  again.  On  the  day 
following,  father  Simon  and  my  Indian  master  went  up  the 
river,  six  and  thirty  leagues,  to  their  chief  village,  and  I  went 
down  the  river  six  leagues  with  two  Frenchmen  to  my  new 
master.  He  kindly  received  me,  and  in  a  few  days  madam 
made  me  an  osnaburg  shirt  and  French  cap,  and  a  coat  out  of 
one  of  my  master's  old  coats.  Then  I  threw  away  my  greasy 
blanket  and  Indian  flap,  and  looked  as  smart  as  — .  And! 
never  more  saw  the  old  friar,  the  Indian  village,  or  my  Indian 
master,  till  about  fourteen  years  after,  when  I  saw  my  old 
Indian  master  at  Port  Royal,  whither  I  had  been  sent  by  the 
government  with  a  flag  of  truce  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners ; 
and  again,  about  twenty-four  years  since,  he  came  to  St.  John's, 
to  fort  George,  to  see  me,  where  I  made  him  very  welcome. 

My  French  master  held  a  great  trade  with  the  Indians, 
which  suited  me  very  well,  I  being  thorough  in  the  languages 
of  the  tribes  at  Cape  Sable  and  St.  Johns. 

I  had  not  lived  long  with  this  gentleman  before  he  commit 
ted  to  me  the  keys  of  his  store,  &c.,  and  my  whole  employment 
was  trading  and  hunting,  in  which  I  acted  faithfully  for  my 
master,  and  never,  knowingly,  wronged  him  to  the  value  of  one 
farthing. 

They  spoke  to  me  so  much  in  Indian  that  it  was  some  time 
before  I  was  perfect  in  the  French  tongue.  Monsieur  gene 
rally  had  his  goods  from  the  men-of-war  which  came  there 
annually  from  France. 

In  the  year  1696,  two  men-of-war  came  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  In  their  way  they  had  captured  the  Newport,  Captain 
Payson,  and  brought  him  with  them.  They  made  the  Indians 
some  presents,  and  invited  them  to  join  in  an  expedition  to 
Pemmaquid.  They  accepted  it,  and  soon  after  arrived  there. 
Capt.  Chubb,  who  commanded  that  post,  delivered  it  up  with 
out  much  dispute  to  Monsieur  D'Iberville,  as  I  heard  the  gen 
tleman  say,  with  whom  I  lived,  who  was  there  present.^ 

Early  in  the  spring  I  was  sent  with  three  Frenchmen  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  for  provision,  which  came  from  Port  Royal. 
We  carried  over  land  from  the  river  to  a  large  bay,  where  we 
were  driven  on  an  island  by  a  north-east  storm,  where  we  were 
kept  seven  days,  without  any  sustenance,  for  we  expected  a 
quick  passage,  and  carried  nothing  with  us.  The  wind  con- 

*  Tbe  reverend  Dr.  Mather  says,  wittily,  as  he  says  everything,  "  This 
Chubb  'bund  opportunity,  in  a  pretty  Chubbish  manner,  to  kill  the  famous 
Edgeremet  and  Ahenquid,  a  couple  of  principal  Indians,  on  a  Lord's  day, 
the  16th  of  February,  1695.  If  there  is  any  unfair  dealing  in  this  action 


I 


IDS  JOHN  GYLES'    CA1TIVITY. 

tinuing  boisterous,  we  could  not  return  back,  and  the  ice  pre 
vented  our  going  forward.  After  seven  days  the  ice  broke  up 
and  we  went  forward,  though  we  were  so  weak  that  we  could 
scarce  hear  each  other  speak.  The  people  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  were  surprised  to  see  us  alive,  and  advised  us  to  be  cau 
tious  and  abstemious  in  eating.  By  this  time  I  knew  as  much 
of  fasting  as  they,  and  dieted  on  broth,  and  recovered  very  well, 
as  did  one  of  the  others ;  but  the  other  two  would  not  be 
Advised,  and  I  never  saw  any  persons  in  greater  distress,  till 
at  length  they  had  action  of  the  bowels,  when  they  recovered. 

A  friar,  who  lived  in  the  family,  invited  me  to  confession, 
but  I  excused  myself  as  well  as  I  could  at  that  time.  One 
evening  he  took  me  into  his  apartment  in  the  dark  and  advised 
me  to  confess  to  him  what  sins  I  had  committed.  I  told  him  I 
could  not  remember  a  thousandth  part  of  them,  they  were  so 
numerous.  Then  he  bid  me  remember  and  relate  as  many  as 
I  could,  and  he  would  pardon  them;  signifying  he  had  a  bag 
to  put  them  in.  I  told  him  I  did  not  believe  it  was  in  the 
power  of  any  but  God  to  pardon  sin.  He  asked  me  whether  1 
had  read  the  Bible.  I  told  him  I  had,  when  I  was  a  little  boy, 
but  it  was  so  long  ago  I  had  forgotten  most  of  it.  Then  he 
told  me  he  did  not  pardon  my  sins,  but  when  he  knew  them  he 
prayed  to  God  to  pardon  them ;  when,  perhaps,  I  was  at  my 
sports  and  plays.  He  wished  me  well  and  hoped  I  should  be 
better  advised,  and  said  he  should  call  for  me  in  a  little  time. 
Thus  he  dismissed  me,  nor  did  he  ever  call  me  to  confession 
afterwards. 

The  gentleman  with  whom  I  lived  had  a  fine  field  of  wheat, 
in  which  great  numbers  of  black-birds  continually  collected  and 
made  great  havoc  in  it.  The  French  said  a  Jesuit  would  come 
and  banish  them.  He  did  at  length  come,  and  having  all 
things  prepared,  he  took  a  basin  of  holy  water,  a  staff  with  a 
little  brush,  and  having  on  his  white  robe,  went  into  the  field 
of  wheat.  I  asked  several  prisoners  who  had  lately  been  taken 
by  privateers,  and  brought  in  there,  viz.  Mr.  Woodbury,  Cocks 
[Cox  ?]  and  Morgan,  whether  they  would  go  and  see  the  cere 
mony.  Mr.  Woodbury  asked  me  whether  I  designed  to  go, 

of  Chubb,  there  will  be  another  February,  not  far  off,  wherein  the  avenger 
of  blood  will  take  satisfaction." — Hist.  N.  E.  [Magnalia]  B.  vii.  79. 

Mr.  Mather  adds,  "  On  the  4th  or  5th  of  August,  Chubb,  with  an  un 
common  baseness,  did  surrender  the  brave  fort  of  Pemmaquid  into  their 
hands."  [For  an  account  of  the  wretched  fate  of  Chubb  as  well  as  that 
of  the  whole  transaction,  see  BOOK  OF  THE  INDIANS,  B.  iii.  121,  122.J 

Unthinking  men  no  sort  of  scruples  make, 
And  some  are  bad  only  for  mischief's  sake, 
But  ev'n  the  best  are  guilty  by  mistake. 


JOHN  GYLES1    CAPTIVITY.  103 

and  1  told  him  yes.  He  then  said  I  was  as  had  as  a  papist, 
and  a  d — d  fool.  I  told  him  I  believed  as  little  of  it  as  he  did, 
but  that  I  was  inclined  to  see  the  ceremony,  that  I  might  tell 
it  to  my  friends. 

With  about  thirty  following  in  procession,  the  Jesuit  marched 
through  the  field  of  wheat,  a  young  lad  going  before  him  bear 
ing  the  holy  water.  Then  the  Jesuit,  dipping  his  brush  into 
the  holy  water,  sprinkled  the  field  on  each  side  of  him ;  a  little 
bell  jingling  at  the  same  time,  and  all  singing  the  words  Ora 
pro  nobis.  At  the  end  of  the  field  they  wheeled  to  the  left 
about,  and  returned.  Thus  they  passed  and  repassed  the  field 
of  wheat,  the  black-birds  all  the  while  rising  before  them  only 
to  light  behind.  At  their  return  I  told  a  French  lad  that  the 
friar  had  done  no  service,  and  recommended  them  to  shoot  the 
birds.  The  lad  left  me,  as  I  thought,  to  see  what  the  Jesuit 
would  say  to  my  observation,  which  turned  out  to  be  the  case, 
for  he  told  the  lad  that  the  sins  of  the  people  were  so  great  that 
he  could  not  prevail  against  those  birds.  The  same  friar  as 
vainly  attempted  to  banish  the  musketoes  from  Signecto,  but 
the  sins  of  the  people  there  were  also  too  great  for  him  to  pre 
vail,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  seemed  that  more  came,  which 
caused  the  people  to  suspect  that  some  had  come  for  the  sins 
of  the  Jesuit  also. 

Some  time  after,  Col.  Hawthorne  attempted  the  taking  of 
the  French  fort  up  this  river.  We  heard  of  him  some  time 
before  he  came  up.  by  the  guard  which  Governor  Villebon  had 
stationed  at  the  river's  mouth.  Monsieur,  my  master,  had  gone 
to  France,  and  madam,  his  wife,  advised  with  me.  She  desir 
ed  me  to  nail  a  paper  on  the  door  of  her  house,  which  paper 
read  as  follows : 

"  I  entreat  the  general  of  the  English  not  to  burn  my  house 
or  barn,  nor  destroy  my  cattle.  I  don't  suppose  that  such  an 
army  comes  here  to  destroy  a  few  inhabitants,  but  to  take  the 
fort  above  us.  I  have  shown  kindness  to  the  English  captives, 
as  we  were  capacitated,  and  have  bought  two,  of  the  Indians, 
and  sent  them  to  Boston.  We  have  one  now  with  us,  and  he 
shall  go  also  when  a  convenient  opportunity  presents,  and  he 
desires  it." 

When  I  had  done  this,  madam  said  to  me,  "  Little  English," 
[which  was  the  familiar  name  she  used  to  call  me  byi]  "  we 
have  shown  you  kindness,  and  now  it  lies  in  your  power  to 
serve  or  disserve  us,  as  you  know  where  our  goods  are  hid  in 
the  woods,  and  that  monsieur  is  not  at  home.  I  could  have 
sent  you  to  the  fort  and  put  you  under  confinement,  but  my 
respect  to  you  and  your  assurance  of  love  to  us  have  disposed 
me  to  confide  in  you ;  persuaded  you  will  not  hurt  us  or  our 


J04  JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY. 

affairs.  And,  now,  if  you  will  not  run  away  to  the  English, 
who  are  coming  up  the  river,  but  serve  our  interest,  I  will  ac 
quaint  monsieur  of  it  on  his  return  from  France,  which  will  be 
very  pleasing  to  him  ;  and  I  now  give  my  word,  you  shall  have 
liberty  to  go  to  Boston  on  the  first  opportunity,  if  you  desire  it, 
or  any  other  favor  in  my  power  shall  not  be  denied  you."  I 
replied : 

"  Madam,  it  is  contrary  to  the  nature  of  the  English  to  re 
quite  evil  for  good.  I  shall  endeavor  to  serve  you  and  your 
interest.  I  shall  not  run  to  the  English,  but  if  I  am  taken  by 
them  I  shall  willingly  go  with  them,  and  yet  endeavor  not  to 
disserve  you  either  in  your  person  or  goods." 

The  place  where  we  lived  was  called  Hagimsack,  twenty-five 
leagues  from  the  river's  mouth,  as  I  have  before  stated. 

We  now  embarked  and  went  in  a  large  boat  and  canoe  two 
or  three  miles  up  an  eastern  branch  of  the  river  that  comes 
from  a  large  pond,  and  on  the  following  evening  sent  down  four 
hands  to  make  discovery.  And  while  they  were  sitting  in  the 
house  the  English  surrounded  it  and  took  one  of  the  four. 
The  other  three  made  their  escape  in  the  dark  and  through 
the  English  soldiers,  and  coming  to  us,  gave  a  surprising  ac 
count  of  affairs.  Upon  this  news  madam  said  to  me,  "  Little 
English,  now  you  can  go  from  us,  but  I  hope  you  will  remem 
ber  your  word."  I  said,  "  Madam,  be  not  concerned.  I  will 
not  leave  you  in  this  strait."  She  said,  "  I  know  not  what  to 
do  with  my  two  poor  little  babes ! "  I  said,  "  Madam,  the 
sooner  we  embark  and  go  over  the  great  pond  the  better." 
Accordingly  we  embarked  and  went  over  the  pond.  The  next 
day  we  spoke  with  Indians,  who  were  in  a  canoe,  and  they 
gave  us  an  account  that  Signecto  town  was  taken  and  burnt. 
Soon  after  we  heard  the  great  guns  at  Gov.  Villebon's  fort, 
which  the  English  engaged  several  days.  They  killed  one 
man,  then  drew  off  down  the  river  ;  fearing  to  continue  longer, 
for  fear  of  being  frozen  in  for  the  winter,  which  in  truth  they 
would  have  been. 

Hearing  no  report  of  cannon  for  several  Jays,  I,  with  two 
others,  went  down  to  our  house  to  make  discovery.  We  found 
our  young  lad  who  was  taken  by  the  English  when  they  went 
up  the  river.  The  general  had  shown  himself  so  honorable, 
that  on  reading  the  note  on  our  door,  he  ordered  it  not  to  be 
burnt,  nor  the  barn.  Our  cattle  and  other  things  he  preserved, 
except  one  or  two  and  the  poultry  for  their  use.  At  their 
return  they  ordered  the  young  lad  to  be  put  on  shore.  Find 
ing  things  in  this  posture,  we  returned  and  gave  madam  an 
account  of  it. 

She  acknowledged  the  many  favors  which  the  English  hail 


JOHN  GYLES'  CAPTIVITY.  105 

showed  her,  with  gratitude,  and  treated  me  with  great  civility. 
The  next  spring  monsieur  arrived  from  France  in  the  man-of- 
war.  He  thanked  me  for  my  care  of  his  affairs,  and  said  he 
would  endeavor  to  fulfil  what  madam  had  promised  me. 

Accordingly,  in  the  year  1698,  peace  being  proclaimed,  a 
sloop  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  with  ransom  for  one  Mi 
chael  Cooms.  I  put  monsieur  in  mind  of  his  word,  telling 
him  there  was  now  an  opportunity  for  me  to  go  and  see  the 
English.  He  advised  me  to  continue  with  him  ;  said  he  would 
do  for  me  as  for  his  own,  &c.  I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness, 
but  rather  chose  to  go  to  Boston,  hoping  to  find  some  of  my 
relations  yet  alive.  Then  he  advised  me  to  go  up  to  the  fort 
and  take  my  leave  of  the  governor,  which  I  did,  and  he  spoke 
very  kindly  to  me.  Some  days  after  I  took  my  leave  of  ma 
dam,  and  monsieur  went  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  with 
me,  to  see  me  safely  on  board.  He  asked  the  master,  Mr. 
Starkee,  a  Scotchman,  whether  I  must  pay  for  my  passage, 
and  if  so,  he  would  pay  it  himself  rather  than  I  should  have  it 
to  pay  at  my  arrival  in  Boston,  but  he  gave  me  not  a  penny. 
The  master  told  him  there  was  nothing  to  pay,  and  that  if  the 
owner  should  make  any  demand  he  would  pay  it  himself, 
rather  than  a  poor  prisoner  should  suffer;  for  he  was  glad  to 
see  any  English  person  come  out  of  captivity. 

On  the  13th  of  June,  I  took  my  leave  of  monsieur,  and  the 
sloop  came  to  sail  for  Boston,  where  we  arrived  on  the  19th  of 
the  same,  at  night.  In  the  morning  after  my  arrival,  a  youth 
came  on  board  and  asked  many  questions  relating  to  my  cap- 
.ivity,  and  at  length  gave  rne  to  understand  that  he  was  my 
little  brother,  who  was  at  play  with  some  other  children  at 
Pernmaquid  when  I  was  taken  captive,  and  who  escaped  into 
the  fort  at  that  perilous  time.  He  told  me  my  elder  brother, 
who  made  his  escape  from  the  farm,  when  it  was  taken,  and 
our  two  little  sisters,  were  alive,  but  that  our  mother  had  been 
dead  some  years.  Then  we  went  on  shore  and  saw  our  elder 
brother. 

On  the  2d  of  August,  1689, 1  was  taken,  and  on  the  19th  of 
June,  1698,  I  arrived  at  Boston ;  so  that  I  was  absent  eight 
years,  ten  months,  and  seventeen  days.  In  all  which  time, 
though  I  underwent  extreme  difficulties,  yet  I  saw  much  of 
God's  goodness.  And  may  the  most  powerful  and  beneficent 
Being  accept  of  this  public  testimony  of  it,  and  bless  my  expe 
riences  to  excite  others  to  confide  in  his  all-sufficiency,  through 
the  infinite  merits  of  JESUS  CHRIST. 


106 


APPENDIX,  containing  minutes  of  the  employments,  public 
stations,  etc.,  of  JOHN  GYLES,  Esq.,  commander  of  the  garri 
son  on  St.  George's  river. 

After  ray  return  out  of  captivity,  June  28th,  1698,  I  applied 
myself  to  the  government  for  their  favor.  Soon  after  I  was 
employed  by  old  father  Mitchel,  of  Maiden,  to  go  as  his  inter 
preter  on  trading  account  to  St.  John's  river. 

October  14th,  1698,  I  was  employed  by  the  government, 
Lieutenant  Governor  S  tough  ton  commander-in-chief,  to  go  as 
interpreter,  at  three  pounds  per  month,  with  Major  Converse 
and  old  Capt.  Alden  to  Penobscot  to  fetch  captives.  At  our 
return  to  Boston  I  was  dismissed ;  but  within  a  few  days  the 
governor  sent  for  me  to  interpret  a  conference  with  Bomma- 
zeen,  and  other  Indians  then  in  jail. 

Some  time  after  I  was  again  put  in  pay  in  order  to  go  inter 
preter  with  Col.  Phillips  and  Capt.  Southack,  in  the  province 
galley,  to  Casco  bay,  to  exchange  said  Indians  [Bomroazeen 
and  others]  for  English  captives.  In  December,  1698,  we 
returned  to  Boston  with  several  captives  which  we  had  libe 
rated,  and  I  was  dismissed  the  service,  and  desired  to  attend  it 
in  the  spring.  I  pleaded  to  be  kept  in  pay  that  I  might  have 
wherewith  to  support  myself  at  school.  I  went  into  the  coun 
try,  to  Rowley,  where  boarding  was  cheap,  to  practise  what 
little  I  had  attained  at  school. 

March,  1699.  With  the  little  of  my  wages  that  I  could 
reserve,  I  paid  for  my  schooling  and  board,  and  attended  the 
service  upon  request,  and  was  again  put  into  pay,  and  went 
with  Col.  Phillips  and  Maj.  Converse  in  a  large  brigantine  up 
Kennebeck  river  for  captives,  and  at  our  return  to  Boston  the 
province  galley  being  arrived  from  New  York  with  my  lord 
Bellemont,  and  the  province  truck  put  on  board,  I  was  ordered 
on  board  the  galley.  We  cruised  on  the  eastern  shore;  and 
in  November,  1699,  I  was  put  out  of  pay,  though  I  pleaded  to 
be  continued  in  it,  seeing  I  must  attend  the  service  in  the 
spring,  and  be  at  considerable  expense  in  the  winter  for  my 
schooling. 

In  the  spring  of  1700, 1  attended  the  service,  and  was  under 
pay  again.  On  August  27th,  a  fort  was  ordered  to  be  built  at 
Casco  bay,  which  was  finished  on  the  6th  of  October  following, 
and  the  province  truck  landed,  and  I  was  ordered  to  reside 
there  as  interpreter,  with  a  captain,  &c.  Not  long  after,  Gov. 
Dudley  sent  me  a  lieutenant's  commission,  with  a  memoran 
dum  on  its  back,  "  No  further  pay  but  as  interpreter  at  three 
pounds  per  month." 


APPENDIX.  107 

August  10th,  1703.  The  French  and  Indians  besieged  our 
fort  for  six  days.  (Major  March  was  our  commander.)  On  the 
16th  of  the  same  month,  Capt.  Southack  arrived  in  the  prov 
ince  galley,  and  in  the  night  following  the  enemy  withdrew. 

May  19th,  1704.  I  received  a  few  lines  from  his  excellency 
directing  me  to  leave  my  post,  and  accompany  Col.  Church  on 
an  expedition  round  the  bay  of  Fundy.^  September  following 
I  returned  to  my  post,  without  any  further  wages  or  encourage 
ment  for  that  service  than  the  beforementioned  pay  at  the 
garrison. 

April,  1706.  There  was  a  change  of  the  chief  officer  at  our 
garrison.  I  chose  to  be  dismissed  with  my  old  officer,  which 
was  granted.  The  same  year  his  excellency  Gov.  Dudley 
presented  me  with  a  captain's  commission,  and  ordered  Colonel 
Saltonstall  to  detach  fifty  effective  men  to  be  delivered  to  me 
in  order  for  a  march.  In  May,  1707,  I  entered  on  an  expedi 
tion  under  Col.  March,  for  Port  Royal,  at  the  termination  of 
which  I  was  dismissed. 

May  12th,  1708,  I  received  orders  from  his  excellency  to  go 
to  Port  Royal  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  exchange  prisoners,  and 
brought  off  all.  At  my  return  I  was  dismissed  the  service. 

In  1709,  I  received  a  commission,  and  Colonel  Noyes  had 
orders  to  detach  forty  men,  whom  he  put  under  me,  with  orders 
to  join  the  forces  for  Canada.  At  Hull,  August  1st,  1709,  I 
received  orders  from  his  excellency  to  leave  my  company  with 
my  lieutenants,  and  go  to  Port  Royal  with  a  flag  of  truce  to 
exchange  prisoners.  I  went  in  the  sloop  Hannah  and  Ruth, 
Thomas  Waters,  master.  I  had  nine  French  prisoners,  which 
were  all  that  were  in  our  governor's  hands.  These  he  ordered 
me  to  deliver  to  Gov.  Supercass,  "  and  to  let  him  know  that  he 
[Grov.  Dudley]  expected  him  to  deliver  all  the  English  prison 
ers  within  his  power,  within  six  days,  which  I  was  ordered  to 
demand  and  insist  upon,  agreeably  to  his  promise  last  year." 
I  was  ordered  to  observe  to  him  that  Governor  Dudley  highly 
resented  his  breach  of  promise  in  not  sending  them  early  this 
spring,  according  to  his  parole  of  honor,  by  myself,  when  we 
had  returned  him  upwards  of  forty  of  his  people,  and  had 
made  provision  for  bringing  home  ours;  and  to  make  par 
ticular  inquiry  after  Capt.  Myles,  and  to  demand  his  and  his 
company's  release  also. 

Accordingly,  arriving  at  Port  Royal,  I  was  kindly  entertained 
by  Gov.  Supercass ;  brought  off  above  one  hundred  prisoners. 
Soon  after  my  return  our  forces  were  dismissed,  and  I  received 

*  A  full  account  of  this  expedition  under  Col.  Church  will  be  found  in 
Church's  History  of  Kbg  Philip's  War,  dec.  ed.  12mo.,  Boston,  1827,  by 
the  editor  of  this. 


108  APPENDIX. 

no  other  consideration  for  my  service  than  pay  as  captain  of 
my  company. 

August,  1715.  I  was  desired,  and  had  great  promises  made 
me  by  the  proprietors,  and  received  orders  from  his  excellency 
to  build  a  fort  at  Pejepscot,  [now  Brunswick,  Me.]  Soon  after 
our  arrival  there  the  Indians  came  in  the  night,  and  forbid  our 
laying  one  stone  upon  another.  I  told  them  I  came  with 
orders  from  Governor  Dudley  to  build  a  fort,  and  if  they  dis 
liked  it  they  might  acquaint  him  with  it ;  and  that  if  they 
came  forcibly  upon  us,  they  or  I  should  fall  on  the  spot.  After 
such  like  hot  words  they  left  us,  and  we  went  on  with  our 
building,  and  finished  it,  November  25th,  1715,  and  our  car 
penters  and  masons  left  us.  My  wages  were  very  small,  yet 
the  gentlemen  proprietors  ordered  me  only  five  pounds  for  my 
good  services,  &c. 

July  12th,  1722,  a  number  of  Indians  engaged  fort  George 
about  two  hours,  killing  one  person,  and  then  drew  off  to  kill 
ing  cattle,  &c. 

April,  1725,  I  received  orders  from  his  honor  Lieut.  Gov. 
Dummer  to  go  ten  days'  march  up  Ammiscoggin  river,  and  in 
my  absence  the  Indians  killed  two  men  at  our  fort.  I  received 
no  further  pay  for  said  service,  only  the  pay  of  the  garrison. 

December  12th,  1725,  I  was  dismissed  from  fort  George, 
and  Capt.  Woodside  received  a  commission  for  the  command 
of  that  place. 

December  13th,  1725,  I  was  commissioned  for  the  garrison 
at  St.  George  river. 

September,  1726.  I  was  detained  some  months  from  my 
post,  by  order  of  Gov.  Dummer,  to  interpret  for  the  Cape  Sable 
Indians,  who  were  brought  in  and  found  guilty.*  There  was 
no  other  person  in  the  province  that  had  their  language.  His 
honor  and  the  honorable  council  presented  me  with  ten  pounds 
for  this  service,  which  I  gratefully  received. 

Nov.  28th,  1728,  I  was  commissioned  for  the  peace. 

I  have  had  the  honor  to  serve  this  province  under  eight 
commanders  in  chief,  governors,  and  lieutenant  governors,  from 
the  year  1698  to  the  year  1736 ;  and  how  much  longer  my 
services  may  continue  I  submit  to  the  Governor  of  the  world, 
who  overrules  every  circumstance  of  life,  which  relates  to 
our  happiness  and  usefulness,  as  in  infinite  wisdom  he  sees 
meat. 

*  There  were  five  of  them  belonging  to  the  St.  Francis  tribe.  They 
had  seized  on  a  vessel  at  Newfoundland  belonging  to  Plymoutr.  The 
act  being  considered  piracy,  they  were  all  executed  at  Boston. — (Ed.) 
MS.  Chronicles  of  the  Indians. 


BURNING  OF  ROBERT  ROGERS.  109 

Be  calm,  my  Delius,  and  serene, 

However  fortune  change  the  scene. 

In  thy  most  dejected  state, 

Sink  not  underneath  the  weight ; 

Nor  yet  when  happy  days  begin, 

And  the  full  tide  comes  rolling  in, 

Let  not  a  fierce  unruly  joy 

The  settled  quiet  of  thy  mind  destroy. 

However  fortune  change  the  scene, 

Be  calm,  my  Delius,  and  serene. — HORACE. 


THREE    NARRATIVES 

OF  EXCESSIVE  DISTRESS  OF  PERSONS  TAKEN  AT  THE  DE 
STRUCTION  OF  SALMON  FALLS,  IN  THE  STATE  OF  NEW 
HAMPSHIRE,  ON  THE  TWENTY-SEVENTH  OF  MARCH,  1690; 
VIZ.,  THE  CRUEL  TORTURE  OF  ROBERT  ROGERS,  THE  FIVE 
YEARS'  CAPTIVITY  OF  MEHETABLE  GOODWIN,  AND  THE 
FORTUNATE  ESCAPE  OF  THOMAS  TOOGOOD.  FROM  THE 
MAGNALIA  CHRISTI  AMERICANA,  OF  DOCTOR  COTTON 
MATHER. 

WHEN  the  news  of  the  destruction  of  Schenectady  reached 
New  England,  it  spread  great  alarm  over  the  whole  country. 
The  wise  men  gave  particular  caution  to  all  the  frontier  posts, 
urging  them  to  keep  strict  watch,  and  to  make  strong  their 
fortifications;  but  the  people  in  the  east  did  not  their  duty, 
and  Salmon  Falls,  a  fine  settlement  upon  a  branch  of  Pascat- 
aqua  river,  fell  into  the  hands  of  an  infuriated  and  cruel  enemy  ; 
the  particulars  whereof  are  at  large  set  forth  in  the  work  enti 
tled  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  INDIANS,  to  which  we  have  before  re 
ferred. 

But,  as  has  been  observed,  notwithstanding  these  warnings 
the  people  dreamed,  that  while  the  deep  snow  of  the  winter 
continued,  they  were  safe  enough,  which  proved  as  vain  as  a 
dream  of  a  dry  summer.  Near  thirty  persons  were  slain,  and 
more  than  fifty  were  led  into  what  the  reader  will  by  and  by 
call  the  worst  captivity  in  the  world.  It  would  be  a  long  story 
to  tell  what  a  particular  share  in  this  calamity  fell  to  the  lot  of 
the  family  of  one  Clement  Short.  This  honest  man  with  his 
pious  wife  and  three  children  were  killed,  and  six  or  seven 
others  of  their  children  were  made  prisoners.  The  most  of 
these  arrived  safe  at  Canada,  through  a  thousand  hardships, 
and  the  most  of  these  were  with  more  than  a  thousand  mer- 
10 


110  BURNING  OF  ROBERT  ROGERS. 

cies  afterwards  redeemed  from  Canada,  and  returned  unto 
their  English  friends  again.  But  as  we  cannot  take  notice  of 
all  the  individuals,  we  will  pass  to  the  notice  of  those  named 
at  the  commencement  of  this  narrative. 

Among  the  prisoners  was  one  Robert  Rogers,  with  whom  as 
the  Indians  journeyed  they  came  to  a  hill,  where  this  man, 
(being  through  his  corpulency  called  Robin  Pork)  being  under 
such  an  intolerable  and  unsupportable  burden  of  Indian  lug 
gage,  was  not  so  able  to  travel  as  the  rest ;  he  therefore, 
watching  for  an  opportunity,  made  his  escape.  The  wretches 
missing  him,  immediately  went  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  they  found  his  burden  cast  in  the  way,  and  the 
tracks  of  his  feet  going  out  of  the  way.  This  they  followed, 
and  found  him  hid  in  a  hollow  tree.  They  dragged  him  out, 
stripped  him,  beat  and  pricked  him,  pushed  him  forward  with 
the  points  of  their  swords,  until  they  got  back  to  the  hill  from 
whence  he  had  escaped.  It  being  almost  night,  they  fastened 
him  to  a  tree,  with  his  hands  behind  him,  then  made  them 
selves  a  supper,  singing  and  dancing  around  him,  roaring,  and 
uttering  great  and  many  signs  of  joy,  but  with  joy  little  enough 
to  the  poor  creature  who  foresaw  what  all  this  tended  to. 

The  Indians  next  cut  a  parcel  of  wood,  and  bringing  it  into  a 
plain  place,  they  cut  off  the  top  of  a  small  red-oak  tree,  leaving 
the  trunk  for  a  stake,  whereunto  they  bound  their  sacrifice. 
They  first  made  a  great  fire  near  this  tree  of  death,  and 
bringing  Rogers  unto  it,  bid  him  take  his  leave  of  his  friends, 
which  he  did  in  a  doleful  manner,  such  as  no  pen,  though 
made  of  a  harpy's  quill,  were  able  to  describe  the  dolor  of  it. 
They  then  allowed  him  a  little  time  to  make  his  prayers  unto 
heaven,  which  he  did  with  an  extreme  fervency  and  agony ; 
whereupon  they  bound  him  to  the  stake,  and  brought  the  rest  of 
the  prisoners,  with  their  arms  tied  each  to  the  other,  and  seat 
ed  them  round  the  fire.  This  being  done,  they  went  behind 
the  fire,  and  thrust  it  forwards  upon  the  man  with  much  laugh 
ter  and  shouting ;  and  when  the  fire  had  burnt  some  time  upon 
him,  even  till  he  was  almost  suffocated,  they  pulled  away  from 
him,  to  prolong  his  existence.  They  now  resumed  their  dan 
cing  around  him,  and  at  every  turn  they  did  with  their  knives 
cut  collops  of  his  flesh  out  of  his  naked  limbs,  and  throw  them 
with  his  blood  into  his  face.  In  this  manner  was  their  work 
continued  until  he  expired. 

Being  now  dead,  they  set  his  body  down  upon  the  glowing 
coals  of  fire,  and  thus  left  him  tied  with  his  back  to  the  stake, 
where  he  was  found  by  some  English  forces  soon  after,  wh» 
were  in  pursuit  of  these  Indians. 


MEHETABLE  GOODWIN.  Ill 

MEHETABLE  GOODWIN,  another  of  the  captives  of  this  band 
of  Indians,  who,  it  will  be  proper  to  notice,  were  led  by  the  re 
nowned  Indian  chief  Hopehood,had  a  child  with  her  about  five 
months  old.  This,  through  hunger  and  hardship,  she  being 
unable  to  nourish  from  her  breast,  occasioned  it  to  make  griev 
ous  and  distressing  ejaculations.  Her  Indian  master  told  her 
that  if  the  child  were  not  quiet  he  would  soon  dispose  of  it, 
which  caused  her  to  use  all  possible  means  that  his  Nttop- 
ship*  might  not  be  offended  ;  and  sometimes  she  would  carry 
it  from  the  fire  out  of  his  hearing,  when  she  would  sit  down 
up  to  her  waist  in  the  snow,  for  several  hours  together,  until 
it  was  exhausted  and  lulled  to  sleep.  She  thus  for  several 
days  preserved  the  life  of  her  babe,  until  he  saw  cause  to 
travel  with  his  own  cubs  farther  afield  ;  and  then,  lest  he 
should  be  retarded  in  his  travel,  he  violently  snatched  the 
babe  out  of  its  mother's  arms,  and  before  her  face  knocked 
out  its  brains ;  and  having  stripped  it  of  its  few  rags  it  had 
hitherto  enjoyed,  ordered  the  mother  to  go  and  wash  them  of 
the  blood  wherewith  they  were  stained !  Returning  from  this 
sad  and  melancholy  task,  she  found  the  infant  hanging  by  the 
neck  in  a  forked  bough  of  a  tree.  She  requested  liberty  to 
lay  it  in  the  earth,  but  the  savage  said,  "  It  is  better  as  it  is, 
for  now  the  wild  beasts  cannot  come  at  it ; "  [I  am  sure  they 
had  been  at  it  ;]t  "  and  you  may  have  the  comfort  of  seeing  it 
again,  if  ever  you  come  that  way." 

The  journey  now  before  them  was  like  to  be  very  long,  as 
far  as  Canada,  where  Mrs.  Goodwin's  master's  purpose  was  to 
make  merchandise  of  her,  and  glad  was  she  to  hear  such 
happy  tidings.  But  the  desperate  length  of  the  way,  and 
want  of  food,  and  grief  of  mind,  wherewith  she  was  now  en 
countered,  caused  her  within  a  few  days  to  faint  under  her 
difficulties ;  when,  at  length,  she  sat  down  for  some  repose, 
with  many  prayers  and  tears  unto  God  for  the  salvation  of  her 
soul,  she  found  herself  unable  to  rise,  until  she  saw  her  furi 
ous  executioner  coming  towards  her  with  fire  in  his  eyes, 
the  devil  in  his  heart,  and  his  hatchet  in  his  hand,  ready  to 
bestow  a  mercy-stroke  of  death  upon  her.  Then  it  was  that 
this  poor  captive  woman,  in  this  extreme  misery,  got  upon  her 
knees,  and  with  weeping  and  wailing  and  all  expressions  of 
agony  and  entreaty,  prevailed  on  him  to  spare  her  life  a  little 
longer,  and  she  did  not  question  but  God  would  enable  her  to 

*  One  of  Dr.  Mather's  miserable  misapplications  of  words.  NETOP, 
among  the  Indians,  signified  friend. — Ed. 

t  I  need  not  remind  the  reader  that  this  is  no  interpretation  of  mine. — 
Ed. 


112  THOMAS  TOOGOOD. 

walk  a  little  faster.  The  merciless  tyrant  was  prevailed  with 
to  spare  her  this  time  ;  nevertheless  her  former  weakness 
quickly  returning  upon  her,  he  was  just  going  to  murder  her, 
when  a  couple  of  Indians,  just  at  this  moment  coming  in, 
called  suddenly  upon  him  to  hold  his  hand.  At  this  such  a 
horror  surprised  his  guilty  soul,  that  he  ran  away  from  her ; 
but  hearing  them  call  his  name,  he  returned,  and  then  permit 
ted  these  his  friends  to  ransom  his  prisoner. 

After  these  events,  as  we  were  seated  by  the  side  of  a  river, 
we  heard  several  guns  go  off  on  the  opposite  side,  which  the 
Indians  concluded  was  occasioned  by  a  party  of  Albany  Indians, 
who  were  their  enemies.  Whereupon  this  bold  blade  [her  old 
master]  would  needs  go  in  a  canoe  to  discover  what  they  were. 
They  fired  upon  and  shot  him  through,  together  with  several 
of  his  friends,  before  the  discovery  could  be  made.  Some 
days  after  this,  divers  of  his  friends  gathered  a  party  to  re 
venge  his  death  on  their  supposed  enemies.  With  these  they 
soon  joined  battle,  and  after  several  hours'  hard  fighting  were 
themselves  put  to  the  rout.  Among  the  captives  which  they 
left  in  their  .(light  was  this  poor  woman,  who  was  overjoyed, 
supposing  herself  now  at  liberty ;  but  her  joy  did  not  last  long, 
for  these  Indians  were  of  the  same  sort  as  the  others,  and  had 
been  by  their  own  friends,  thus  through  a  strange  mistake,  set 
upon. 

However,  this  crew  proved  more  favorable  to  her  than  the 
former,  and  went  away  silently  with  their  booty ;  being  loath 
to  have  any  noise  made  of  their  foul  mistake.  And  yet  a  few 
days  after,  such  another  mistake  happened ;  for  meeting  with 
another  party  of  Indians,  which  they  imagined  were  in  the 
English  interest,  they  also  furiously  engaged  each  other,  and 
many  were  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides  ;  hut  the  con 
querors  proved  to  be  a  party  of  French  Indians  this  time,  who 
took  this  poor  Mrs.  Goodwin  and  presented  her  to  the  French 
captain  of  the  party,  by  whom  she  was  carried  to  Canada, 
where  she  continued  five  years.  After  which  she  was  brought 
safely  back  to  New  England. 

THOMAS  TOOGOOD'S  short  narrative  is  introduced  to  relieve 
the  reader  from  the  contemplation  of  blood  and  misery.  At 
the  same  time  the  other  captives  were  taken,  three  Indians 
hotly  pursued  this  man,  and  one  of  them  overtaking  him,  while 
the  rest  perceiving  it,  staid  behind  the  hill,  having  seen  him 
quietly  yield  himself  a  prisoner.  While  the  Indian  was  get 
ting  out  his  strings  to  bind  his  prisoner,  he  held  his  gun  under 
his  arm,  which  Toogood  observing,  suddenly  sprang  and 
wrested  it  from  him ;  and  momentarily  presenting  it  at  the 


ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  113 

Indian,  protested  he  would  shoot  him  down  if  he  made  the  least 
noise.  And  so  away  he  ran  with  it  unto  Quochecho.  If  my 
reader  be  now  inclined  to  smile,  when  he  thinks  how  simply 
poor  Isgrim  looked,  returning  to  his  mates  behind  the  hill, 
without  either  gun  or  prey,  or  any  thing  but  strings,  to  remind 
him  of  his  own  deserts,  I  am  sure  his  brethren  felt  not  less  so, 
for  they  derided  him  with  ridicule  at  his  misadventure.  The 
Indians  are  singularly  excessive  in  the  practice  of  sporting 
at  the  misfortunes  of  one  another  in  any  case  they  are  outwit 
ted,  or  have  been  guilty  of  committing  any  blunder. 

MARY  PLAISTED  was  another  of  the  unfortunate  captives  at 
that  time  and  place,  but  only  a  few  particulars  of  extreme  suf 
ferings  are  related.  She  had  been  out  of  her  bed  of  family 
sickness  but  three  weeks  when  she  was  taken,  and  like  others 
she  was  obliged  to  wade  through  swamps  and  snow,  when  at 
length  she  was  relieved  of  the  burthen  of  her  infant  son  by  her 
cruel  master,  who,  after  dashing  out  its  brains,  threw  it  into  a 
river  ! 


GOD'S  MERCY  SURMOUNTING  MAN'S 
CRUELTY, 

EXEMPLIFIED  IN  THE  CAPTIVITY  AND  SURPRISING  DELIVE 
RANCE  OP  ELIZABETH  HANSON,  WIFE  OF  JOHN  HANSON, 
OF  KNOXMARSH,  AT  KECHEACHY,  IN  DOVER  TOWNSHIP, 
WHO  WAS  TAKEN  CAPTIVE  WITH  HER  CHILDREN  AND 
MAID-SERVANT,  BY  THE  INDIANS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND,  IN 
THE  YEAR  1724.— The  substance  of  which  was  taken  from  her  own 
mouth,  and  now  published  for  general  service.  The  third  edition. — Phila 
delphia:  reprinted;  Danvers,  near  Salem:  reprinted  and  *old  by  E.  Russell, 
next  the  Bell  Tavern,  MDCCLXXX.  At  the  same  place  may  be  had  a 
number  of  new  Books,  &c.,  some  of  which  are  on  the  times.— Cash  paid  for 
Rags. 


OT7"  This  edition  of  Mrs.  Hanson's  narrative  is  copied  from  that  printed 
at  Dover,  N.  H.,  in  1824.  The  above  is  a  copy  of  the  title  page  of  that 
of  1780.  These  editions  correspond,  and  I  have  discovered  no  disagree 
ments  in  them.  From  a  MS.  extract,  in  the  hand-writing  of  Mr.  John 
Farme  r,  upon  the  cover  of  a  copy  of  the  Dover  edition,  it  seems  there  was 
some  doubt  in  his  mind  about  the  exact  date  of  the  capture  of  the  Han 
son  family ;  for  in  that  memorandum  above  mentioned,  purporting  to 
have  been  taken  from  the  Boston  News-Letter  of  1722,  it  is  stated  to  have 
happened  on  the  27th  of  August  of  that  year.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
refer  to  the  News- Letter,  but  I  find  the  event  noticed  in  Pemberton's  MS. 
Chronology  as  happening  on  the  7th  of  September,  1724.  I  have  no 


27 


J 


114  ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

doubt  of  the  correctness  of  the  date  in  the  narrative,  myself,  but  mention 
the  fact,  that  some  brother  antiquary  may  have  the  pleasure  which  may 
accrue  from  an  investigation. — Ed. 

REMARKABLE  and  many  are  the  providences  of  God  towards 
his  people  for  their  deliverance  in  a  time  of  trouble,  by  which 
we  may  behold,  as  in  lively  characters,  the  truth  of  that  saying, 
"  That  he  is  a  God  near  at  hand,  and  always  ready  to  help  and 
assist  those  that  fear  him  and  put  their  confidence  in  him." 

The  sacred  writings  give  us  instances  of  the  truth  hereof  in 
days  of  old,  as  in  the  cases  of  the  Israelites,  Job,  David,  Dan 
iel,  Paul,  Silas,  and  many  others.  Besides  which,  our  modem 
histories  have  plentifully  abounded  with  instances  of  God's 
fatherly  care  over  his  people,  in  their  sharpest  trials,  deepest 
distresses,  and  sorest  exercises,  by  which  we  may  know  he  is 
a  God  that  changeth  not,  but  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and 
forever. 

Among  the  many  modern  instances,  I  think  I  have  not  met 
with  a  more  singular  one  of  the  mercy  and  preserving  hand  of 
God,  than  in  the  case  of  ELIZABETH  HANSON,  wife  of  JOHN 
HANSON,  of  Knoxmarsh,^  in  Kecheachy,  [Cochecho]  in  Dover 
township,  in  New  England,  who  was  taken  into  captivity  the 
twenty-seventh  day  of  the  sixth  month,  called  June,  1724,  and 
carried  away  (with  four  children  and  a  servant)  by  the  Indians; 
which  relation,  as  it  was  taken  from  her  own  mouth,  by  a  friend, 
is  as  follows: 

As  soon  as  the  Indians  discovered  themselves,  (having,  as  we 
afterwards  understood,  been  skulking  in  the  fields  some  days, 
watching  their  opportunity,  when  my  dear  husband,  with  the 
rest  of  our  men,  were  gone  out  of  the  way,)  two  of  them  came 
in  upon  us,  and  then  eleven  more,  all  naked,  with  their  guns 
and  tomahawks,  and  in  a  great  fury  killed  one  child  immedi 
ately,  as  soon  as  they  entered  the  door,  thinking  thereby  to 
strike  in  us  the  greater  terror,  and  to  make  us  more  fearful  of 
them.  After  which,  in  like  fury,  the  captain  cam<?  up  to  me; 
but  at  my  request  he  gave  me  quarter.  There  were  with  me 
our  servant  and  six  of  our  children  ;  two  of  the  little  ones  being 
at  play  about  the  orchard,  and  my  youngest  child,  but  fourteen 
days  old,  whether  in  cradle  or  arms,  I  now  remember  not 
Being  in  this  condition,  I  was  very  unfit  for  the  hardships  I 
after  met  with,  which  I  shall  endeavor  briefly  to  relate. 

They  went  to  rifling  the  house  in  a  great  hurry,  (fearing,  as 
I  suppose,  a  surprise  from  our  people,  it  being  late  in  the  after 
noon,)  and  packed  up  some  linen,  woollen  and  what  other 

*  A  name,  the  use  of  which  was  long  since  discontinued. — Ed. 


ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  115 

thing's  pleased  them  best,  and  when  they  had  done  what  they 
would,  they  turned  out  of  the  house  immediately ;  and  while 
they  were  at  the  door,  two  of  my  younger  children,  one  six, 
and  the  other  four  years  old,  came  in  sight,  and  being  undef 
a  great  surprise,  cried  aloud,  upon  which  one  of  the  Indians 
running  to  them,  took  them  under  the  arms,  and  brought  them 
to  us.  My  maid  prevailed  with  the  biggest  to  be  quiet  and 
still ;  but  the  other  could  by  no  means  be  prevailed  with,  but 
continued  shrieking  and  crying  very  much,  and  the  Indians,  to 
ease  themselves  of  the  noise,  and  to  prevent  the  danger  of  a 
discovery  that  might  arise  from  it,  immediately,  before  my  face, 
knocked  his  brains  out.  I  bore  this  as  well  as  I  could,  nol 
daring  to  appear  disturbed  or  to  show  much  uneasiness,  lest 
they  should  do  the  same  to  the  others  ;  but  should  have  been 
exceeding  glad  if  they  had  kept  out  of  sight  until  we  had  gone 
from  the  house. 

Now  having  killed  two  of  my  children,  they  scalped  them, 
(a  practice  common  with  these  people,  which  is,  whenever  they 
kill  any  enemies,  they  cut  the  skin  off  from  the  crown  of  *hc:, 
heads,  and  carry  it  with  them  for  a  testimony  and  evidence 
that  they  have  killed  so  many,  receiving  sometimes  a  reward 
for  every  scalp,)  and  then  put  forward  to  leave  the  house  in 
great  haste,  without  doing  any  other  spoil  than  taking  what 
they  had  packed  together,  with  myself  and  little  babe,  fourteen 
days  old,  the  boy  six  years,  and  two  daughters,  the  one  about 
fourteen  and  the  other  about  sixteen  years,  with  my  servant 
girl. 

It  must  be  considered,  that  I  having  lain  in  but  fourteen  days, 
and  being  but  very  tender  and  weakly,  and  removed  now  out 
of  a  good  room,  well  accommodated  with  fire,  bedding,  and 
other  things  suiting  a  person  in  my  condition,  it  made  these 
hardships  to  me  greater  than  if  I  had  been  in  a  strong  and 
healthy  frame ;  yet,  for  all  this,  I  must  go  or  die.  There  wa$ 
no  resistance. 

In  this  condition  aforesaid  we  left  the  house,  each  Indian 
having  something;  and  I  with  my  babe  and  three  children  thai 
could  go  of  themselves.  The  captain,  though  he  had  as  great 
a  load  as  he  could  well  carry,  and  was  helped  up  with  it,  dicP, 
for  all  that,  carry  my  babe  for  me  in  his  arms,  which  I  took  to 
be  a  favor  from  him.  Thus  we  went  through  several  swamps 
and  some  brooks,  they  carefully  avoiding  all  paths  of  any  track 
like  a  road,  lest  by  our  footsteps  we  should  be  followed. 

We  got  that  night,  I  suppose,  not  quite  ten  miles  from  oui 
house  in  a  direct  line  ;  then  taking  up  their  quarters,  lighted  a 
fire,  some  of  them  lying  down,  while  others  kept  watch.  I 


116  ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

being  both  wet  and  weary,  and  lying  on  the  cold  ground  in  the 
open  woods,  took  but  little  rest. 

However,  early  in  the  morning,  we  must  go  just  as  the  day 
appeared,  travelling  very  hard  all  that  day  through  sundry 
rivers,  brooks  and  swamps,  they,  as  before,  carefully  avoiding 
all  paths  for  the  reason  already  assigned.  At  night,  I  was  both 
wet  and  tired  exceedingly ;  having  the  same  lodging  on  the 
cold  ground,  in  the  open  woods.  Thus,  for  twenty-six  days, 
day  by  day  we  travelled  very  hard,  sometimes  a  little  by  water, 
over  lakes  and  ponds ;  and  in  this  journey  we  went  up  some 
high  mountains,  so  steep  that  I  was  forced  to  creep  up  on  my 
hands  and  knees ;  under  which  difficulty,  the  Indian,  my  mas 
ter,  would  mostly  carry  my  babe  for  me,  which  I  took  as  a 
great  favor  of  God,  that  his  heart  was  so  tenderly  inclined  to 
assist  me,  though  he  had,  as  it  is  said,  a  very  heavy  burden 
of  his  own  ;  nay,  he  would  sometimes  take  my  very  blanket, 
so  that  I  had  nothing  lo  do  but  to  take  my  little  boy  by  the 
hand  for  his  help,  and  assist  him  as  well  as  I  could,  taking  him 
up  in  my  arms  a  little  at  times,  because  so  small  ;  and  when 
we  came  to  very  bad  places,  he  would  lend  me  his  hand,  or 
coming  behind,  would  push  me  before  him  ;  in  all  which,  he 
showed  some  humanity  and  civility,  more  than  I  could  haye 
expected :  for  which  privilege  I  was  secretly  thankful  to  God, 
as  the  moving  cause  thereof. 

Next  to  this  we  had  some  very  great  runs  of  water  and 
brooks  to  wade  through,  in  which  at  times  we  met  with  much 
difficulty,  wading  often  to  our  middles,  and  sometimes  our  girls 
were  up  to  their  shoulders  and  chins,  the  Indians  carrying  my 
boy  on  their  shoulders.  At  the  side  of  one  of  these  runs  or 
rivers,  the  Indians  would  have  my  eldest  daughter,  Sarah,  to 
sing  them  a  song.  Then  was  brought  into  her  remembrance 
j  that  passage  in  the  137th!  Psalm,  "  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon," 

[&c.j  When  my  poor  child  had  given  me  this  account,  it  was 
very  affecting,  and  my  heart  was  very  full  of  trouble,  yet  on 
my  child's  account  I  was*  glad  that  she  had  so  good  an  incli 
nation,  which  she  yet  further  manifested  in  longing  for  a  Bible, 
that  we  might  have  the  comfort  of  reading  the  holy  text  at 
vacant  times,  for  our  spiritual  comfort  under  our  present  afflic 
tion.  : 

Next  to  the  difficulties  of  the  rivers,  were  the  prodigious 
swamps  and  thickets,  very  difficult  to  pass  through,  in  which 
places  my  master  would  sometimes  lead  me  by  the  hand,  a 
great  way  together,  and  give  me  what  help  he  was  capable  of, 
under  the  straits  we  went  through ;  and  we,  pacing,  one 
after  another,  the  first  made  it  pretty  passable  for  the  hindmost. 

But  the  greatest  dinicuky,  that  deserves  the  first  to  be  named, 


MBS.  HANSON  AXD  HEB  DAUGHTER  8AKAH. 


ELIZABETH  HANSON'S    CAPTIVITY.  117 

! 

was  want  of  food,  having  at  times  nothing  to  eat  but  pieces  of 
old  beaver-skin  match-coats,  which  the  Indians  having  hid,  (for 
they  came  naked  as  is  said  before,)  which  in  their  going  back 
again  they  took  with  them,  and  they  were  used  more  for  food 
than  raiment.  Being  cut  into  long  narrow  straps,  they  gave 
us  little  pieces,  which  by  the  Indians'  example  we  laid  on  the 
fire  until  the  hair  was  singed  away,  and  then  we  ate  them  as 
a  sweet  morsel,  experimentally  knowing  "  that  to  the  hungry 
soul  every  bitter  thing  is  sweet." 

It  is  to  be  considered  further,  that  of  this  poor  diet  we  had 
but  very  scanty  allowance ;  so  that  we  were  in  no  danger  of 
being  overcharged.  But  that  which  added  to  my  trouble,  was 
the  complaints  of  my  poor  children,  especially  the  little  boy. 
Sometimes  the  Indians  would  catch  a  squirrel  or  beaver,  and 
at  other  times  we  met  with  nuts,  berries,  and  roots  which  they 
digged  out  of  the  ground,  with  the  bark  of  some  trees  ;  but  we 
had  no  corn  for  a  great  while  together,  though  some  of  the 
younger  Indians  went  baclc  and  brought  some  corn  from  the 
English  inhabitants,  (the  harvest  not  being  gathered,)  of  which 
we  had  a  little  allowed  us.  But  when  they  caught  a  beaver, 
we  lived  high  while  it  lasted  ;  they  allowed  me  the  guts  and 
garbage  for  myself  and  children  ;  but  not  allowing  us  to  clean 
and  wash  them,  as  they  ought,  made  the  food  very  irksome  to 
us  to  feed  upon,  and  nothing  besides  pinching  hunger  could 
have  made  it  any  way  tolerable  to  be  borne. 

The  next  difficulty  was  no  less  hard  to  me  ;  for  my  daily 
travel  and  hard  living  made  my  milk  dry  almost  quite  up,  and 
how  to  preserve  my  poor  babe's  life  was  no  small  care  on  my 
mind ;  having  no  other  sustenance  for  her,  many  times,  but 
cold  water,  which  I  took  in  my  mouth,  and  let  it  fall  on  my 
breast,  when  I  gave  her  the  teat  to  suck  in,  with  what  it  could 
get  from  the  breast ;  and  when  I  had  any  of  the  broth  of  the 
beaver's  guts,  or  other  guts,  I  fed  my  babe  with  it,  and  as  well 
as  I  could  I  preserved  her  life  until  I  got  to  Canada,  and  then 
I  had  some  other  food,  of  which,  more  in  its  place. 

Having  by  this  time  got  considerably  on  the  way,  the  Indians 
parted,  and  we  were  divided  amongst  them.  This  was  a  sore 
grief  to  us  all ;  but  we  must  submit,  and  no  way  to  help  our 
selves.  My  eldest  daughter  was  first  taken  away,  and  carried 
to  another  part  of  the  country,  far  distant  from  us,  where  for 
the  present  we  must  take  leave  of  her,  though  with  a  heavy 
heart. 

We  did  not  travel  far  after  this,  before  they  divided  again, 
taking  my  second  daughter  and  servant  maid  from  me,  into 
another  part  of  the  country.  So,  I  having  now  only  my  babe 
at  my  breast,  and  little  boy  six  years  old,  we  remained  with 


118  ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

the  captain  still.  But  my  daughter  and  servant  underwent 
great  hardships  after  they  were  parted  from  me,  tra\elling  three 
days  without  any  food,  taking  nothing  for  support  but  cold 
water ;  and  the  third  day,  what  with  the  cold,  the  wet,  and 
hunger,  the  servant  fell  down  as  dead  in  a  swoon,  being  both 
very  cold  and  wet,  at  which  the  Indians,  with  whom  they  were, 
were  surprised,  showing  some  kind  of  tenderness,  being  unwil 
ling  then  to  lose  them  by  death,  having  got  them  so  near  home  ; 
hoping,  if  they  lived,  by  their  ransom  to  make  considerable 
profit  of  them. 

In  a  few  days  after  this,  they  got  near  their  journey's  end, 
where  they  had  more  plenty  of  corn,  and  other  food.  But 
flesh  often  fell  very  short,  having  no  other  way  to  depend  on 
for  it  but  hunting;  and  when  that  failed,  they* had  very  short 
commons.  It  was  not  long  ere  my  daughter  and  servant  were 
likewise  parted,  and  my  daughter's  master  being  sick,  was  not 
able  to  hunt  for  flesh  ;  neither  had  they  any  corn  in  that  place, 
but  were  forced  to  eat  bark  of  trees  for  a  whole  week. 

Being  almost  famished  in  this  distress,  Providence  so  order 
ed  that  some  other  Indians,  hearing  of  their  misery,  came  to 
visit  them,  (these  people  being  very  kind  and  helpful  to  one 
another,  which  is  very  commendable,)  and  brought  to  them  the 
guts  and  liver  of  a  beaver,  which  afforded  them  a  good  repast, 
being  but  four  in  number,  the  Indian,  his  wife  and  daughter,  and 
my  daughter. 

By  this  time  my  master  and  our  company  got  to  our  jour 
ney's  end,  where  we  were  better  fed  at  times,  having  some 
corn  and  venison,  and  wild  fowl,  or  what  they  could  catch  by 
hunting  in  the  woods  ;  and  my  master  having  a  large  family, 
fifteen  in  number,  we  had  at  times  very  short  commons,  more 
especially  when  game  was  scarce. 

But  here  our  lodging  was  still  on  the  cold  ground,  in  a  poor 
wigwam,  (which  is  a  kind  of  little  shelter  made  with  the  rind 
of  trees,  and  mats  for  a  covering,  something  like  a  tent.)  These 
are  so  easily  set  up  and  taken  down,  that  they  often  remove 
them  from  one  place  to  another.  Our  shoes  and  stockings, 
and  our  other  clothes,  being  worn  out  in  this  long  journey 
through  the  bushes  and  swamps,  and  the  weather  coming  in 
very  hard,  we  were  poorly  defended  from  the  cold,  for  want 
of  necessaries ;  which  caused  one  of  my  feet,  one  of  the  little 
babe's,  and  both  of  the  little  boy's,  to  freeze ;  and  this  was  no 
small  exercise,  yet,  through  mercy,  we  all  did  well. 

Now,  though  we  got  to  our  journey's  end,  we  were  never 
long  in  one  place,  but  very  often  removed  from  one  place  to 
another,  carrying  our  wigwams  with  us,  which  we  could  do 
without  much  difficulty.  This,  being  for  the  convenience  of 


ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  119 

hunting,  made  our  accommodations  much  more  unpleasant, 
than  if  we  had  continued  in  one  place,  by  reason  the  coldness 
and  dampness  of  the  ground,  where  our  wigwams  were  pitch 
ed,  made  it  very  unwholesome,  and  unpleasant  lodging. 

Having  now  got  to  the  Indian  fort,  many  of  the  Indians 
came  to  visit  us,  and  in  their  way  welcomed  my  master  home, 
and  held  a  great  rejoicing,  with  dancing,  firing  of  guns,  heating 
on  hollow  trees,  instead  of  drums  ;  shouting,  drinking,  nnd  feast 
ing  after  their  manner,  in  much  excess,  for  several  days  together, 
which  I  suppose,  in  their  thoughts,  was  a  kind  of  thanks  to 
God,  put  up  for  their  safe  return  and 'good  success.  But  while 
they  were  in  their  jollity  and  mirth,  my  mind  was  greatly  ex 
ercised  towards  the  Lord,  that  I,  with  my  dear  children,  sepa 
rated  from  me,  might  be  preserved  from  repining  against  God 
under  our  affliction  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  we 
might  have  our  dependence  on  him,  who  rules  the  hearts  of 
men,  and  can  do  what  he  pleases  in  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth, 
knowing  that  his  care  is  over  them  who  put  their  trust  in  him  ; 
but  I  found  it  very  hard  to  keep  my  mind  as  I  ought,  in  the 
resignation  which  is  proper  it  should  be,  under  such  afflictions 
and  sore  trials  as  at  that  time  I  suffered  in  being  under  various 
fears  and  doubts  concerning  my  children,  that  were  separated 
from  me,  which  helped  to  add  to  and  greatly  increase  my 
troubles.  And  here  I  may  truly  say,  my  afflictions  are  not  to 
be  set  forth  in  words  to  the  extent  of  them. 

We  had  not  been  long  at  home  ere  my  master  went  a  hunt 
ing,  and  was  absent  about  a  week,  he  ordering  me  in  his 
absence  to  get  in  wood,  gather  nuts,  &c.  I  was  very  diligent 
cutting  the  wood  and  putting  it  in  order,  not  having  very  far 
to  carry  it.  But  when  he  returned,  having  got  no  prey,  he 
was  very  much  out  of  humor,  and  the  disappointment  was  so 
great  that  he  could  not  forbear  revenging  it  on  us  poor  cap 
tives.  However,  he  allowed  me  a  little  boiled  corn  for  myself 
and  child,  but  with  a  very  angry  look  threw  a  stick  or  corn  cob 
at  me  with  such  violence  as  did  bespeak  he  grudged  our  eat 
ing.  At  this  his  squaw  and  daughter  broke  out  into  a  great 
crying.  This  made  me  fear  mischief  was  hatching  against  us. 
I  immediately  went  out  of  his  presence  into  another  wig 
wam  ;  upon  which  he  came  after  me,  and  in  a  great  fury  tore 
my  blanket  off  my  back,  and  took  my  little  boy  from  me, 
and  struck  him  down  as  he  went  along  before  him ;  but  the 
poor  child  not  being  hurt,  only  frightened  in  the  fall,  start 
ed  up  and  ran  away  without  crying.  Then  the  Indian,  my 
master,  left  me  ;  but  his  wife's  mother  came  and  sat  down  by 
me,  and  told  me  I  must  sleep  there  that  night.  She  then  going 
from  me  a  little  time,  came  back  with  a  small  skin  to  cover  my 


120  ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

feet  withal,  informing  me  that  my  master  intended  now  to  kill  us, 
and  I,  being  desirous  to  know  the  reason,  expostulated,  that  in 
his  absence  I  had  been  diligent  to  do  as  I  was  ordered  by  him. 
Thus  as  well  as  I  could  I  made  her  sensible  how  unreason 
able  he  was.  Now,  though  she  could  not  understand  me,  nor 
I  her,  but  by  signs,  we  reasoned  as  well  as  we  could.  She 
therefore  made  signs  that  I  must  die,  advising  me,  by  point 
ing  up  with  her  fingers,  in  her  way,  to  pray  to  God,  endeavor 
ing  by  her  signs  and  tears  to  instruct  me  in  that  which  was 
most  needful,  viz.  to  prepare  for  death,  which  now  threatened 
me  :  the  poor  old  squaw  was  so  very  kind  and  tender,  that  she 
would  not  leave  me  all  the  night,  but  laid  herself  down  at  my 
feet,  designing  what  she  could  to  assuage  her  son-in-law's 
wrath,  who  had  conceived  evil  against  me,  chiefly,  as  I  under 
stood,  because  the  want  of  victuals  urged  him  to  it.  My  rest 
was  little  this  night,  my  poor  babe  sleeping  sweetly  by  me. 

I  dreaded  the  tragical  design  of  my  master,  looking  every 
hour  for  his  coming  to  execute  his  bloody  will  upon  us  ,  but 
he  being  weary  with  hunting  and  travel  in  the  woods,  having 
toiled  for  nothing,  went  to  rest  and  forgot  it.  Next  morning 
he  applied  himself  again  to  hunting  in  the  woods,  but  I  dread 
ed  his  returning  empty,  and  prayed  secretly  in  my  heart  that 
he  might  catch  some  food  to  satisfy  his  hunger,  and  cool  his 
ill  humor.  He  had  not  been  gone  but  a  little  time,  when  he 
returned  with  booty,  having  shot  some  wild  ducks  ;  and  now 
he  appeared  in  a  better  temper,  ordered  the  fowls  to  be  dressed 
with  speed  ;  for  these  kind  of  people,  when  they  have  plenty, 
spend  it  as  freely  as  they  get  it,  using  with  gluttony  and 
drunkenness,  in  two  days'  time,  as  much  as  with  prudent  man 
agement  might  serve  a  week.  Thus  do  they  live  for  the  most 
part,  either  in  excess  of  gluttony  and  drunkenness,  or  under 
great  straits  of  want  of  necessaries.  However,  in  this  plenti 
ful  time,  I  felt  the  comfort  of  it  in  part  with  the  family  ;  hav 
ing  a  portion  sent  for  me  and  my  little  ones,  which  was  very 
acceptable.  Now,  I  thinking  the  bitterness  of  death  was  over 
for  this  time,  my  spirits  were  a  little  easier. 

Not  long  after  this  he  got  into  the  like  ill  humor  again, 
threatening  to  take  away  my  life.  But  I  always  observed 
whenever  he  was  in  such  a  temper,  he  wanted  food,  and  was 
pinched  with  hunger.  But  when  he  had  success  in  hunting, 
to  take  either  bears,  bucks,  or  fowls,  on  which  he  could  fill  his 
belly,  he  was  better  humored,  though  he  was  naturally  of  a 
very  hot  and  passionate  temper,  throwing  sticks,  stones,  or 
whatever  lay  in  his  way,  on  every  slight  occasion.  This  made 
me  in  continual  danger  of  my  life ;  but  God,  whose  provi 
dence  is  over  all  his  works,  so  preserved  me  that  I  never 


ELIZABETH  HANSON'S    CAPTIVITY.  121 

received  any  damage  from  him,  that  was  of  any  great  conse 
quence  to  me  ;  for  which  I  ever  desire  to  be  thankful  to  my 
Maker. 

When  flesh  was  scarce  we  had  only  the  guts  and  garbage 
allowed  to  our  part ;  and  not  being  permitted  to  cleanse  the 
guts  any  other  wise  than  emptying  the  dung  [out],  without  so 
much  as  washing  them,  as  before  is  noted  ;  in  that  filthy  pickle 
we  must  boil  them  and  eat  them,  which  was  very  unpleasant. 
But  hunger  made  up  that  difficulty,  so  that  this  food,  which 
was  very  often  our  lot,  became  pretty  tolerable  to  a  sharp  ap 
petite,  which  otherwise  could  not  have  been  dispensed  with. 
Thus  I  considered,  none  knows  what  they  can  undergo  until 
they  are  tried ;  for  what  I  had  thought  in  my  own  family  not 
fit  for  food,  would  here  have  been  a  dainty  dish  and  sweet 
morsel. 

By  this  time,  what  with  fatigue  of  spirits,  hard  labor,  mean 
diet,  and  often  want  of  natural  rest,  I  was  brought  so  low,  that 
my  milk  was  dried  up,  my  babe  very  poor  and  weak,  just  skin 
and  bones  ;  for  I  could  perceive  all  her  joints  from  one  end  of 
the  back  to  the  other,  and  how  to  get  what  would  suit  her 
weak  appetite,  I  was  at  a  loss  ;  on  which  one  of  the  Indian 
squaws,  perceiving  my  uneasiness  about  my  child,  began  some 
discourse  with  me,  in  which  she  advised  me  to  take  the  ker 
nels  of  walnuts,  clean  them  and  beat  them  with  a  little  water, 
which  I  did  and  when  I  had  so  done  the  water  looked  like 
milk  ;  then  she  advised  me  to  add  to  this  water  a  little  of  the 
finest  of  Indian  corn  meal,  and  boil  it  a  little  together.  I  did 
so,  and  it  became  palatable,  and-  was  very  nourishing  to  the 
babe,  so  that  she  began  to  thrive  and  look  well,  who  was  before 
more  like  to  die  than  live.  I  found  that  with  this  kind  of  diet 
the  Indians  did  often  nurse  their  infants.  This  was  no  small 
comfort  to  rne ;  but  this  comfort  was  soon  mixed  with  bitter 
ness  and  trouble,  which  thus  happened :  my  master  taking 
notice  of  my  dear  babe's  thriving  condition,  would  often  look 
upon  her  and  say  when  she  was  fat  enough  she  would  be 
killed,  and  he  would  eat  her ;  and  pursuant  to  his  pretence,  at  a 
certain  time,  he  made  me  fetch  him  a  stick  that  he  had  pre- 

rred  for  a  spit  to  roast  the  child  upon,  as  he  said,  which  when 
had  done  he  made   me  sit  down  by  him   and   undress  the 
infant.     When  the  child  was  naked  he  felt  her  arms,  legs,  and 
thighs,  and  told  me  she  was  not  fat  enough  yet ;  I  must  dress 
her  again  until  she  was  better  in  case. 

Now,  though  he  thus  acted,  I  could  not  persuade  myself  that 
he  intended  to  do  as  he  pretended,  but  only  to  aggravate  and 
afflict  me ;  neither  ever  could  I  think  but  our  lives  would  be 
preserved  from  his  barbarous  hands,  by  the  overruling  power 


122 


ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 


of  Him  in  whose  providence  I  put  my  trust  both  day  and 
night. 

A  little  time  after  this,  my  master  fell  sick,  and  in  his  sick 
ness,  as  he  lay  in  his  wigwam,  he  ordered  his  own  son  to  beat 
my  son ;  but  the  old  squaw,  the  Indian  boy's  grandmother, 
would  not  suffer  him  to  do  it :  then  his  father,  being  provoked, 
caught  up  a  stick,  very  sharp  at  one  end,  and  with  great  vio 
lence  threw  it  from  him  at  my  son,  and  hit  him  on  the  breast, 
with  which  my  child  was  much  bruised,  and  the  pain  with  the 
surprise  made  him  turn  as  pale  as  death  ;  I  entreating  him  not 
to  cry,  and  the  boy,  though  but  six  years  old,  bore  it  with  won 
derful  patience,  not  so  much  as  in  the  least  complaining,  so  that 
the  child's  patience  assuaged  the  barbarity  of  his  heart :  who, 
no  doubt,  would  have  carried  his  passion  and  resentment  much 
higher,  had  the  child  cried,  as  always  complaining  did  aggra 
vate  his  passion,  and  his  anger  grew  hotter  upon  it.  Some 
little  time  after,  on  the  same  day,  he  got  upon  his  feet,  but  far 
from  being  well.  However,  though  he  was  sick,  his  wife  and 
daughter  let  me  know  he  intended  to  kill  us,  and  I  was  under 
a  fear,  unless  providence  now  interposed,  how  it  would  end. 
I  therefore  put  down  my  child,  and  going  out  of  his  presence, 
went  to  cut  wood  for  the  fire  as  I  used  to  do,  hoping  that  would 
in  part  allay  his  passion  ;  but  withal,  ere  I  came  to  the  wig 
wam  again,  I  expected  my  child  would  be  killed  in  this  mad 
fit,  having  no  other  way  but  to  cast  my  care  upon  God,  who 
had  hitherto  helped  and  cared  for  me  and  mine. 

Under  this  great  feud,  the  old  squaw,  my  master's  moth 
er-in-law,  left  him,  but  my  mistress  and  her  daughter  abode 
in  the  wigwam  with  my  master,  and  when  I  came  with  my 
wood,  the  daughter  came  to  me,  whom  I  asked  if  her  father 
had  killed  my  child,  and  she  made  me  a  sign,  no,  with  a  counte 
nance  that  seemed  pleased  it  was  so ;  for  instead  of  his  further 
venting  his  passion  on  me  and  my  children,  the  Lord  in  whom 
I  trusted  did  seasonably  interpose,  and  I  took  it  as  a  merciful 
deliverance  from  him,  and  the  Indian  was  under  some  sense  of 
the  same,  as  himself  did  confess  to  them  about  him  after 
wards. 

Ihus  it  was,  a  little  after  he  got  upon  his  feet,  the  Lord 
struck  him  with  great  sickness,  and  a  violent  pain,  as  appeared 
by  the  complaint  he  made  in  a  doleful  and  hideous  manner ; 
which  when  I  understood,  not  having  yet  seen  him,  I  went  to 
another  squaw,  that  was  come  to  see  my  master,  which  could 
both  speak  and  understand  English,  and  inquired  of  her  if 
my  mistress  (for  so  I  always  called  her,  and  him  master) 
thought  that  master  would  die.  She  answered  yes,  it  was  very 
likely  he  would,  being  worse  and  worse.  Then  I  told  her  he 


ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  123 

struck  my  boy  a  dreadful  blow  without  any  provocation  at 
all,  and  had  threatened  to  kill  us  all  in  his  fury  and  passion , 
upon  which  the  squaw  told  me  my  master  had  confessed  the 
above  abuse  he  offered  my  chi-ld,  and  that  the  mischief  he  had 
done  was  the  cause  why  God  afflicted  him  with  that  sickness 
and  pain,  and  he  had  promised  never  to  abuse  us  in  such  sort 
more  :  and  after  this  he  soon  recovered,  but  was  not  so  pas 
sionate  ;  nor  do  I  remember  he  ever  after  struck  either  me  or 
my  children,  so  as  to  hurt  us,  or  with  that  mischievous  intent 
as  before  he  used  to  do.  This  I  took  as  the  Lord's  doing,  and 
it  was  marvellous  in  my  eyes. 

Some  few  weeks  after  this,  my  master  made  another  re 
move,  having  as  before  made  several ;  but  this  was  the  longest 
ever  he  made,  it  being  two  days'  journey,  and  mostly  upon  ice. 
The  first  day's  journey  the  ice  was  bare,  but  the  next  day,  some 
snow  falling,  made  it  very  troublesome,  tedious,  and  difficult 
travelling ;  and  I  took  much  damage  in  often  falling ;  having 
the  care  of  my  babe,  that  added  -not  a  little  to  my  uneasiness. 
And  the  last  night  when  we  came  to  encamp,  it  being  in  the 
night,  I  was  ordered  to  fetch  water ;  but  having  sat  awhile  on 
the  cold  ground,  I  could  neither  go  nor  stand ;  but  crawling 
on  my  hands  and  knees,  a  young  Indian  squaw  came  to  see 
our  people,  being  of  another  family,  in  compassion  took  the 
kettle,  and  knowing  where  to  go,  which  I  did  not,  fetched  the 
water  for  me.  This  I  took  as  a  great  kindness  and  favor,  that 
her  heart  was  inclined  to  do  me  this  service. 

I  now  saw  the  design  of  this  journey.  My  master  being,  as 
I  suppose,  weary  to  keep  us,  was  willing  to  make  what  he 
could  of  our  ransom ;  therefore,  he  went  further  towards  the 
French,  and  left  his  family  in  this  place,  where  they  had  a 
great  dance,  sundry  other  Indians  coming  to  our  people.  This 
held  some  time,  and  while  they  were  in  it,  I  got  out  of  their 
way  in  a  corner  of  the  wigwam  as  well  [as]  I  could  ;  but  every 
time  they  came  by  rne  in  their  dancing,  they  would  bow  my 
head  towards  the  ground,  and  frequently  kick  me  with  as  great 
fury  as  they  could  bear,  being  sundry  of  them  barefoot,  and 
others  having  Indian  mockosons.  This  dance  held  some  time, 
and  they  made,  in  their  manner,  great  rejoicings  and  noise. 

It  was  not  many  days  ere  my  master  returned  from  the 
French  ;  but  he  was  in  such  a  humor  when  he  came  back,  he 
would  not  suffer  me  in  his  presence.  Therefore  I  had  a  little 
shelter  made  with  some  boughs,  they  having  digged  through 
the  snow  to  the  ground,  it  being  pretty  deep.  In  this  hole  I 
and  my  poor  children  were  put  to  lodge ;  the  weather  being 
very  sharp,  with  hard  frost,  in  the  month  called  January,  made 
it  more  tedious  to  me  and  my  children.  Our  stay  was  nut 


124  ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

long  in  this  place  before  he  took  me  to  the  French,  in  order 
for  a  chapman.  When  we  came  among  them  I  was  exposed 
for  sale,  and  he  asked  for  me  800  livres.  But  his  chapman 
not  complying  with  his  demand,  put  him  in  a  great  rage, 
offering  him  but  600 ;  he  said,  in  a  great  passion,  if  he  could 
not  have  his  demand,  he  would  make  a  great  fire  and  burn  me 
and  the  babe,  in  the  view  of  the  town,  which  was  named  Fori 
Royal.  The  Frenchman  bid  the  Indian  make  his  fire,  "  and 
I  will,"  says  he,  "  help  you,  if  you  think  that  will  do  you  more 
good  than  600  livres,"  calling  my  master  fool,  and  speaking 
roughly  to  him,  bid  him  be  gone.  But  at  the  same  time  the 
Frenchman  was  civil  to  me ;  and,  for  my  encouragement,  bid 
me  be  of  good  cheer,  for  I  should  be  redeemed,  and  not  go 
back  with  them  again. 

Retiring  now  with  my  master  for  this  night,  the  next  day  I 
was  redeemed  for  six  hundred  livres ;  and  in  treating  with  my 
master,  the  Frenchman  queried  why  he  asked  so  much  for  the 
child's  ransom ;  urging,  when  she  had  her  belly  full,  she 
would  die.  My  master  said,  "  No,  she  would  not  die,  having 
already  lived  twenty-six  days  on  nothing  but  water,  believing 
the  child  to  be  a  devil."  The  Frenchman  told  him,  "  No,  the 
child  is  ordered  for  longer  life ;  and  it  has  pleased  God  to 
preserve  her  to  admiration."  My  master  said  no,  she  was  a 
devil,  and  he  believed  she  would  not  die,  unless  they  took  a 
hatchet  and  beat  her  brains  out.  Thus  ended  their  discourse, 
and  I  was,  as  aforesaid,  with  my  babe,  ransomed  for  six  hun 
dred  livres ;  my  little  boy,  likewise,  at  the  same  time,  for  an 
additional  sum  of  livres,  was  redeemed  also. 

I  now  having  changed  my  landlord,  my  table  and  diet,  as 
well  as  my  lodging,  the  French  were  civil  beyond  what  I  could 
either  desire  or  expect.  But  the  next  day  after  I  was  re 
deemed,  the  Romish  priest  took  my  babe  from  me,  and  accord 
ing  to  their  custom,  they  baptized  her,  urging  if  she  died 
before  that  she  would  be  damned,  like  some  of  our  modern 
pretended  reformed  priests,  and  they  gave  her  a  name  as 
pleased  them  best,  which  was  Mary  Ann  Frossways,  telling 
me  my  child,  if  she  now  died,  would  be  saved,  being  baptized  ; 
and  my  landlord  speaking  to  the  priest  that  baptized  her,  said, 
"  It  would  be  well,  now  Frossways  was  baptized,  for  her  to 
die,  being  now  in  a  state  to  be  saved,"  but  the  priest  said,  "  No, 
the  child  having  been  so  miraculously  preserved  through  so 
many  hardships,  she  may  be  designed  by  God  for  some  great 
work,  and  by  her  life  being  still  continued,  may  much  more 
glorify  God  than  if  she  should  now  die."  A  very  sensible 
remark,  and  I  wish  it  may  prove  true. 

1  having  been  about  five  months  amongst  the  Indiana,  in 


.    _ . . .. -..._..-  . . —  _^* 


ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  125 

about  one  month  after  I  got  amongst  the  French,  my  dear 
husband,  to  my  unspeakable  comfort  and  joy,  came  to  me, 
who  was  now  himself  concerned  to  redeem  his  children,  two 
of  our  daughters  being  still  captives,  and  only  myself  and  two 
little  ones  redeemed ;  and,  through  great  difficulty  and  trouble, 
he  recovered  the  younger  daughter.  But  the  eldest  we  could 
by  no  means  obtain  from  their  hands,  for  the  squaw,  to  whom 
she  was  given,  had  a  son  whom  she  intended  my  daughter 
should  in  time  be  prevailed  with  to  marry.  The  Indians  are 
very  civil  towards  their  captive  women,  not  offering  any  in 
civility  by  any  indecent  carnage,  (unless  they  be  much  over 
come  in  liquor,)  which  is  commendable  in  them,  so  far. 

However,  the  affections  they  had  for  my  daughter  made 
them  refuse  all  offers  and  terms  of  ransom ;  so  that,  after  my 
poor  husband  had  waited,  and  made  what  attempts  and  en 
deavors  he  could  to  obtain  his  child,  and  all  to  no  purpose, 
we  were  forced  to  make  homeward,  leaving  our  daughter,  to 
our  great  grief,  behind  us,  amongst  the  Indians,  and  set  for 
ward  over  the  lake,  with  three  of  our  children,  and  the  ser 
vant  maid,  in  company  with  sundry  others,  and,  by  the  kind 
ness  of  Providence,  we  got  well  home  on  the  1st  day  of  the 
7th  month,  1725.  From  which  it  appears  I  had  been  from 
home,  amongst  the  Indians  and  French,  about  twelve  months 
and  six  days. 

In  the  series  of  which  time,  the  many  deliverances  and  won 
derful  providences  of  God  unto  us,  and  over  us,  hath  been, 
and  I  hope  will  so  remain  to  be,  as  a  continued  obligation  on 
my  mind,  ever  to  live  in  that  fear,  love,  and  obedience  to  God, 
duly  regarding,  by  his  grace,  with  meekness  and  wisdom,  to 
approve  myself  by  his  spirit,  in  all  holiness  of  life  and  godli 
ness  of  conversation,  to  the  praise  of  him  that  hath  called  me, 
who  is  God  blessed  forever. 

But  my  dear  husband,  poor  man !  could  not  enjoy  himself 
in  quiet  with  us,  for  want  of  his  dear  daughter  Sarah,  that 
was  left  behind ;  arid  not  willing  to  omit  anything  for  her 
redemption  which  lay  in  his  power,  he  could  not  be  easy  with 
out  making  a  second  attempt ;  in  order  to  which,  he  took  his 
journey  about  the  19th  day  of  the  second  month,  1727,  in  compa 
ny  with  a  kinsman  and  his  wife,  who  went  to  redeem  some  of 
their  children,  and  were  so  happy  as  to  obtain  what  they  went 
about.  But  my  dear  husband  being  taken  sick  on  the  way, 
grew  worse  and  worse,  as  we  were  informed,  and  was  sensible 
he  should  not  get  over  it ;  telling  my  kinsman  that  if  it  was 
the  Lord's  will' he  must  die  in  the  wilderness,  he  was  freely 
given  up  to  it.  He  was  under  a  good  composure  of  mind, 
and  sensible  to  his  last  moment,  and  died,  as  near  as  we  can 
11* 


126  ELIZABETH  HANSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

judge,  in  about  the  half  way  between  Albany  and  Canada,  in 
my  kinsman's  arms,  and  is  at  rest,  I  hope,  in  the  Lord :  and 
though  my  own  children's  loss  is  very  great,  yet  I  doubt  not 
but  his  gain  is  much  more ;  I  therefore  desire  and  pray,  that 
the  Lord  will  enable  me  patiently  to  submit  to  his  will  in  all 
things  he  is  pleased  to  suffer  to  be  my  lot,  while  here,  ear 
nestly  supplicating  the  God  and  father  of  all  our  mercies  to 
be  a  father  to  my  fatherless  children,  and  give  unto  them  that 
blessing,  which  maketh  truly  rich,  and  adds  no  sorrow  with 
it ;  that  as  they  grow  in  years  they  may  grow  in  grace,  and 
experience  the  joy  of  salvation,  which  is  come  by  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord  and  Savior.  Amen. 

Now,  though  my  husband  died,  by  reason  of  which  his  la 
bor  was  ended,  yet  my  kinsman  prosecuted  the  thing,  and  left 
no  stone  unturned,  that  he  thought,  or  could  be  advised,  was 
proper  to  the  obtaining  my  daughter's  freedom  ;  but  could  by 
no  means  prevail ;  for,  as  is  before  said,  she  being  in  another 
part  of  the  country  distant  from  where  1  was,  and  given  to  an 
old  squaw,  who  intended  to  marry  her  in  time  to  her  son,  using 
what  persuasion  she  could  to  effect  her  end,  sometimes  by  fair 
means,  and  sometimes  by  severe. 

In  the  mean  time  a  Frenchman  interposed,  and  they  by  per 
suasions  enticing  my  child  to  marry,  in  order  to  obtain  her 
freedom,  by  reason  that  those  captives  married  by  the  French 
are,  by  that  marriage,  made  free  among  them,  the  Indians 
having  then  no  pretence  longer  to  keep  them  as  captives ;  she 
therefore  was  prevailed  upon,  for  the  reasons  afore  assigned, 
to  marry,  and  she  was  accordingly  married  to  the  said  French' 
man. 

Thus,  as  well,  and  as  near  as  I  can  from  my  memory,  (not 
being  capable  of  keeping  a  journal,)  I  have  given  a  short  but  a 
true  account  of  some  of  the  remarkable  trials  and  wonderful 
deliverances  which  I  never  purposed  to  expose ;  but  thai  I 
hope  thereby  the  merciful  kindness  and  goodness  of  God  may 
be  magnified,  and  the  reader  hereof  provoked  with  more  care 
and  fear  to  serve  him  in  righteousness  and  humility,  and  then 
my  designed  end  and  purpose  will  be  answered. 

E.  H. 


127 


A  NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  OF  NEHEMIAH  HOW,  WHO  WAS  TAKEN 
BY  THE  INDIANS  AT  THE  GREAT  MEADOW  FORT  ABOVE 
FORT  DUMMER,  WHERE  HE  WAS  AN  INHABITANT,  OCTO 
BER  HTH,  1745.  Giving  an  account  of  what  he  met  with  in  his  travelling 
to  Canada,  and  while  he  was  in  prison  there.  Together  with  an  account  of 
MR.  How's  death  at  Canada. — Psalm  cxxxvii :  1,2,  3,  and  4. — Boston:  N. 
E.  Printed  and  sold  opposite  to  the  Prison  in  Queen  Street,  1748. 

AT  the  Great  Meadow's  fort,  fourteen  miles  above  fort  Dum- 
mer,  October  llth,  1745,  where  I  was  an  inhabitant,  I  went  out 
from  the.  fort  about  fifty  rods  to  cut  wood ;  and  when  I  had 
done,  I  walked  towards  the  fort,  but  in  my  way  heard  the  crack 
ling  of  fences  behind  me,  and  turning  about,  saw  twelve  or 
thirteen  Indians,  with  red  painted  heads,  running  after  me;  on 
which  I  cried  to  God  for  help,  and  ran,  and  hallooed  as  I  ran, 
to  alarm  the  fort.  But  by  the  time  I  had  run  ten  rods,  the 
Indians  came  up  with  me  and  took  hold  of  me.  At  the  same 
time  the  men  at  the  fort  shot  at  the  Indians,  and  killed  one  on 
the  spot,  wounded  another,  who  died  fourteen  days  after  he 
got  home,  and  likewise  shot  a  bullet  through  the  powder-horn 
of  one  that  had  hold  of  me.  They  then  led  me  into  the  swamp 
and  pinioned  me.  I  then  committed  my  case  to  God,  and 
prayed  that,  since  it  was  his  will  to  deliver  me  into  the  hands 
of  those  cruel  men,  I  might  find  favor  in  their  eyes ;  which 
request  God  in  his  infinite  mercy  was  pleased  to  grant ;  for 
they  were  generally  kind  to  me  while  I  was  with  them.  Some 
of  the  Indians  at  that  time  took  charge  of  me,  others  ran  into 
the  field  to  kill  cattle.  They  led  me  about  half  a  mile,  where 
we  staid  in  open  sight  of  the  fort,  till  the  Indians  who  were 
killing  cattle  came  to  us,  laden  with  beef.  Then  they  went  a 
little  further  to  a  house,  where  they  staid  to  cut  the  meat  from 
the  bones,  and  cut  the  helve  off  of  my  axe,  and  stuck  it  into 
the  ground,  pointing  the  way  we  went. 

Then  we  travelled  along  the  river  side,  and  when  we  had 
got  about  three  miles,  I  espied  a  canoe  coming  down  on  the 
further  side  of  the  river,  with  David  Rugg  and  Robert  Baker, 
belonging  to  our  fort.  I  made  as  much  noise  as  I  could,  by 
hammering,  &c.,  that  they  might  see  us  before  the  Indians  saw 
them,  and  so  get  ashore  and  escape.  But  the  Indians  saw 
them,  and  shot  across  the  river,  twenty  or  thirty  guns  at  them, 
by  which  the  first-mentioned  man  was  killed,  but  the  other, 
Robert  Baker,  got  ashore  and  escaped.  Then  some  of  the 
Indians  swam  across  the  river  and  brought  the  canoe  to  us ; 


28 


128  NEHEMIAH  HOWS  CAPTIVITY. 

having  stripped  and  scalped  the  dead  man,  and  then  we  went 
about  a  mile  further,  when  we  came  to  another  house,  where 
we  stopped.  While  there  we  heard  men  running  by  the  bank 
of  the  river,  whom  I  knew  to  be  J-nathan  Thayer,  Samuel 
Nutting-  and  my  son  Caleb  How.  Five  of  the  Indians  ran  to 
head  them.  My  heart  asked  for  them,  and  prayed  to  God  to 
save  them  from  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  I  suppose  they  hid 
under  the  bank  of  the  river,  for  the  Indians  were  gone  some 
time,  but  came  back  without  them,  blessed  be  God. 

We  went  about  a  mile  further,  where  we  lodged  that  night, 
and  roasted  the  meat  they  had  got.  The  next  day  we  travel 
led  very  slow,  by  reason  of  the  wounded  Indian,  which  was  a 
great  favor  to  me.  We  lodged  the  second  night  against  Num 
ber  Four  [since  Charlestown,  N.  H.]  The  third  day  we  like 
wise  travelled  slowly,  and  stopped  often  to  rest,  and  get  along 
the  wounded  man.  We  lodged  that  night  by  the  second  small 
river  that  runs  into  the  great  river  against  Number  Four. 

The  fourth  day  morning  the  Indians  held  a  piece  of  bark, 
and  bid  me  write  my  name,  and  how  many  days  we  had  tra 
velled  ;  "  for,"  said  they  "  may  be  Englishmen  will  come  here." 
That  was  a  hard  day  to  me,  as  it  was  wet  and  we  went  over 
prodigious  mountains,  so  that  I  became  weak  and  faint ;  for  I 
had  not  eaten  the  value  of  one  meal  from  the  time  I  was  taken, 
and  that  being  beef  almost  raw  without  bread  or  salt.  When 
I  came  first  to  the  foot  of  those  hills,  I  thought  it  was  impossi 
ble  for  me  to  ascend  them,  without  immediate  help  from  God ; 
therefore  my  constant  recourse  was  to  him  for  strength,  which 
he  was  graciously  pleased  to  grant  me,  and  for  which  I  desire 
to  praise  him. 

We  got  that  day  a  little  before  night  to  a  place  where  they 
had  a  hunting  house,  a  kettle,  some  beer,  Indian  corn,  and 
salt.  They  boiled  a  good  mess  of  it.  I  drank  of  the  broth, 
eat  of  the  meat  and  corn,  and  was  wonderfully  refreshed,  so 
that  I  felt  like  another  man.  The  next  morning  we  got  up 
early,  and  after  we  had  eaten,  my  master  said  to  me,  *'  You 
must  quick  walk  to  day,  or  I  kill  you."  I  told  him  I  would  go 
as  fast  as  I  could,  and  no  faster,  if  he  did  kill  me.  At  which 
an  old  Indian,  who  was  the  best  friend  I  had,  took  care  of  me. 
We  travelled  that  day  very  hard,  and  over  steep  hills,  but  it 
being  a  cool,  windy  day,  I  performed  it  with  more  ease  than 
before ;  yet  I  was  much  tired  before  night,  but  dare  not  com 
plain. 

The  next  day  the  Indians  gave  me  a  pair  of  their  shoes,  so 
that  I  travelled  with  abundant  more  ease  than  when  I  wore  my 
own  shoes.  I  ate  but  very  little,  as  our  victuals  were  almost 
spent  When  the  sun  tvas  about  two  hours  high,  the  Indians 


NEHEM1AH  HOW'S  CAPTIVITY.  129 

scattered  to  hunt,  and  they  soon  killed  a  fawn,  and  three  small 
bears,  so  that  we  had  again  meat  enough  ;  some  of  which  we 
boiled  and  eat  heartily  of,  by  which  I  felt  strong. 

The  next  day  we  travelled  very  hard,  and  performed  it  with 
ease,  insomuch  that  one  of  the  Indians  told  me  I  was  a  very 
strong  man.  About  three  o'clock  we  came  to  the  lake,  where 
they  had  five  canoes,  pork,  Indian  corn,  and  tobacco.  We  got 
into  the  canoes,  and  the  Indians  stuck  up  a  pole  about  eight 
feet  long  with  the  scalp  of  David  Rugg  on  the  top  of  it  painted 
red,  with  the  likeness  of  eyes  and  mouth  on  it.  We  sailed 
about  ten  miles,  and  then  went  on  shore,  and  after  we  had 
made  a  fire,  we  boiled  a  good  supper,  and  eat  heartily. 

The  next  day  we  set  sail  for  Crown  Point,  but  when  we  were 
within  a  mile  of  the  place,  they  went  on  shore,  where  were 
eight  or  ten  French  and  Indians,  two  of  whom,  before  I  got  on 
shore,  carne  running  into  the  water,  knee  deep,  and  pulled  me 
out  of  the  canoe.  There  they  sung  and  danced  around  me  a 
while,  when  one  of  thrm  bid  me  sit  down,  which  I  did.  Then 
they  pulled  off  my  shoe,;  ^.nd  buckles,  and  took  them  from  me. 
Soon  after  we  went  along  to  Crown  Point.  When  we  got  there, 
the  people,  both  French  and  Indians,  were  very  thick  by  the 
water-side.  Two  of  the  Indians  took  me  out  of  the  canoe,  and 
leading  me,  bid  me  run,  which  I  did,  about  twenty  rods  to  the 
fort.  The  fort  is  large,  built  with  stone  and  lime.  They  led 
me  up  to  the  third  loft,  where  was  the  captain's  chamber.  A 
chair  was  brought  that  I  might  sit  by  the  fire  and  warm  me. 
Soon  after,  the  Indians  that  I  belonged  to,  and  others  that  were 
there,  came  into  the  chamber,  among  whom  was  one  I  knew, 
named  Pealtomy.  He  came  and  spoke  to  me,  and  shook  hands 
with  me,  and  I  was  glad  to  see  him.  He  went  out,  but  soon 
returned  and  brought  to  me  another  Indian,  named  Amrusus, 
husband  to  her  who  was  Eunice  Williams,  daughter  of  the  late 
Rev.  John  Williams,  of  Deerfield  ;  he  was  glad  to  see  me,  and 
I  to  see  him.  He  asked  me  about  his  wife's  relations,  and 
showed  a  great  deal  of  respect  to  me. 

A  while  after  this,  the  Indians  sat  in  a  ring  in  the  chamber, 
and  Pealtomy  came  to  me,  and  told  me  I  must  go  and  sing  and 
dance  before  the  Indians.  I  told  him  I  could  not.  He  told  me 
over  some  Indian  words,  and  bid  me  sing  them.  I  told  him  I 
could  not.  With  that  the  rest  of  the  fort  who  could  speak 
some  English,  came  to  me,  and  bid  me  sing  it  in  English,  which 
was,  "  I  don't  know  where  I  go,"  which  I  did,  dancing  roi  nd 
that  ring  three  times.  I  then  sat  down  by  the  fire.  The  priest 
came  to  me,  and  gave  me  a  dram  of  rum,  and  afterwards  the 
captain  brought  me  part  of  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  plate  of  butter, 
and  asked  me  to  eat,  which  I  did  heartily,  for  I  had  not  eaten 
9 


130  NEHEMIAH  HOW'S  CAPTIVITY. 

any  bread  from  the  time  I  was  taken  till  then.  The  French 
priest  and  all  the  officers  showed  me  a  great  deal  of  respect. 
The  captain  gave  me  a  pair  of  good  buck-skin  shoes,  and  the 
priest  fixed  them  on  my  feet.  We  staid  there  that  night,  and 
I  slept  with  the  priest,  captain  and  lieutenant.  The  lieutenant's 
name  was  Ballock  ;  he  had  been  a  prisoner  at  Boston,  and  had 
been  at  Northampton  and  the  towns  thereabouts.  This  day, 
which  was  the  Sabbath,  I  was  well  treated  by  the  French  offi 
cers,  with  victuals  and  drink.  We  tarried  there  till  noon,  then 
went  off  about  a  mile,  and  put  on  shore,  where  they  staid  the 
most  of  the  day ;  and  having  rum  with  them,  most  of  them 
,were  much  liquored.  Pealtorny  and  his  squaw,  and  another 
.Indian  family,  went  with  us,  and  by  them  I  found  out  that  Wil 
iliam  Phips  killed  an  Indian,  besides  him  we  wounded  before 
lie  was  killed ;  for  an  Indian  who  was  with  us  asked  me  if 
there  was  one  killed  near  our  fort  last  summer.  I  told  him  1 
did  not  know.  He  said  he  had  a  brother  who  went  out  then, 
and  he  had  not  seen  him  since,  and  had  heard  he  was  killed  at 
.our  fort,  and  wanted  to  know  if  it  was  true.  But  I  did  not 
ihink  it  best  to  tell  him  any  such  thing  was  suspected. 

The  Indians  now  got  into  a  frolic,  and  quarrelled  about  me, 
and  made  me  sit  in  the  canoe  by  the  water- side.  I  was  afraid 
they  would  hurt  if  not  kill  me.  They  attempted  to  come  to 
me,  but  the  sober  Indians  hindered  them  that  were  in  liquor. 
Pealtomy  seeing  the  rout,  went  to  the  fort,  and  soon  after,  Lieut. 
Ballock,  with  some  soldiers,  came  to  us,  and  when  the  Indians 
were  made  easy,  they  went  away.  We  lodged  there  that  night, 
and  the  next  day  was  a  stormy  day  of  wind,  snow  and  rain,  so 
that  we  were  forced  to  tarry  there  that  day  and  the  next  night. 
In  this  time  the  Indians  continued  fetching  rum  from  the  fort, 
and  kept  half  drunk.  Here  I  underwent  some  hardship  by 
staying  there  so  long  in  a  storm  without  shelter  or  blanket. 
They  had  a  great  dance  that  night,  and  hung  up  David  Rugg's 
scalp  on  a  pole,  dancing  round  it.  After  they  had  done,  they 
lay  down  to  sleep. 

The  next  morning,  which  was  the  tenth  day  from  the  time 
of  my  being  taken,  we  went  off  in  the  canoe,  and  the  night 
after  we  arrived  at  the  wide  lake,  and  there  we  staid  that  night. 
Some  of  the  Indians  went  a  hunting,  and  killed  a  fat  deer,  so 
that  we  had  victuals  plenty,  for  we  had  a  full  supply  of 'bread 
given  us  at  the  fort  at  Crown  Point. 

The  next  morning  the  wind  being  calm,  we  set  out  about 
two  hours  before  day,  and  soon  after  came  to  a  schooner  lying 
at  anchor.  We  went  on  board  her,  and  the  French  treated  us 
very  civilly.  They  gave  each  of  us  a  dram  of  rum,  and  vict 
uals  to  eat.  As  soon  as  it  was  day  we  left  the  schooner,  and 


NEHEMIAH  HOW'S  CAPTIVITY.  131 

j 

two  hours  before  sunset  got  over  the  lake,  and  next  day  came 
to  Shamballee  [Chamblee,*]  where  we  met  three  hundred 
French  and  two  hundred  Indians,  who  did  the  mischief  about 
Mr.  Lydin's  fort.t  I  was  taken  out  of  the  canoe  by  two 
Frenchmen,  and  fled  to  a  house  about  ten  rods  off  as  fast  as  I. 
could  run,  the  Indians  flinging  snow-balls  at  me.  As  soon  as 
I  got  to  the  house,  the  Indians  stood  round  me  very  thick,  and 
bid  me  sing  and  dance,  which  I  did  with  them,  in  their  way ; 
then  they  gave  a  shout,  and  left  off.  Two  of  them  came  to 
me,  one  of  whom  smote  me  on  one  cheek,  the  other  on  the 
other,  which  made  the  blood  run  plentifully.  Then  they  bid 
me  sing  and  dance  again,  which  I  did  with  them,  and  they  with 
me,  shouting  as  before.  Then  two  Frenchmen  took  me  under 
each  arm,  and  ran  so  fast  that  the  Indians  could  not  keep  up 
with  us  to  hurt  me.  We  ran  about  forty  rods  to  another  house, 
where  a  chair  was  brought  for  me  to  sit  down.  The  house 
was  soon  full  of  French  and  Indians,  and  others  surrounded  it, 
and  some  were  looking  in  to  the  windows.  A  French  gentle 
man  came  to  me,  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  led  me  into  a  small 
room,  where  none  came  in  but  such  as  he  admitted.  He  gave 
me  victuals  and  drink.  Several  French  gentlemen  and  Indians 
came  in  and  were  civil  to  me.  The  Indians  who  came  in 
could  speak  English,  shook  hands  with  me,  and  called  me 
brother.  They  told  me  they  were  all  soldiers,  and  were  going 
to  New  England.  They  said  they  should  go  to  my  town, 
which  was  a  great  damp  to  my  spirits,  till  I  heard  of  their  re 
turn,  where  they  had  been,  and  what  they  had  done.  A  while 
after  this,  the  Indians  whom  I  belonged  to  came  to  me  and 
told  me  we  must  go.  I  went  with  them.  After  going  down 
the  river  about  two  miles,  we  came  to  the  thickest  of  the  town, 
where  was  a  large  fort  built  with  stone  and  lime,  and  very 
large  and  fine  houses  in  it.  Here  was  the  general  of  the  army 
I  spoke  of  before.  He  asked  me  what  news  from  London  and 
Boston.  I  told  him  such  stories  as  I  thought  convenient,  and 
omitted  the  rest,  and  then  went  down  to  the  canoes.  Some  of 
the  Indians  went  and  got  a  plenty  of  bread  and  beef,  which 
they  put  into  the  canoes,  and  then  we  went  into  a  French  house, 
where  we  had  a  good  supper.  There  came  in  several  French 
gentlemen  to  see  me,  who  were  civil.  One  of  them  gave  me 
a  crown,  sterling.  We  lodged  there  till  about  two  hours  before 
day,  when  we  arose,  and  went  down  the  river.  I  suppose  we 

*  A  fort  on  a  fine  river  of  the  same  name,  about  fifteen  miles  south-west 
of  Montreal. — Ed. 

f  Nov.  16,  1745,  Saratoga,  a  Dutch  village  of  thirty  families,  is  destroy 
ed  by  the  Indians  and  French.  They  burnt  a  fort,  killed  many,  and  car 
ried  away  others  of  the  inhabitants. — MS.  Chronicles  of  the  Indians. 


132 


] 

NEHEMIAH  HOW'S  CAPTIVITY. 

a  hundred  miles  that  day,  which  brought  us  into  a  great 
river,  called  Quebec.  We  lodged  that  night  in  a  French  house, 
and  were  civilly  treated. 

s  The  next  day  we  went  down  the  river,  and  I  was  carried 
before  the  governor  there,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  and  the  16th 
day  after  my  being  taken.  We  staid  there  about  three  hours, 
and  were  well  treated  by  the  French.  The  Indians  were  then 
ordered  to  carry  me  down  to  Quebec,  which  was  ninety  miles 
further.  We  went  down  the  river  about  three  miles  that 
night,  then  going  on  shore,  lodged  the  remainder  of  the  night. 

.  The  next  morning  we  set  off,  and  the  second  day,  which 
was  the  18th  from  the  time  I  was  taken,  we  arrived  at  Que 
bec.  The  land  is  inhabited  on  both  sides  of  the  river  from  the 
lake  to  Quebec,  which  is  at  least  two  hundred  miles,  especially 
below  Chamblee,  very  thick,  so  that  the  houses  are  within  sight 
of  one  another  all  the  way. 

But  to  return :  After  we  arrived  at  Quebec,  I  was  carried 
up  into  a  large  chamber,  which  was  full  of  Indians,  who  were 
civil  to  me.  Many  of  the  French  came  in  to  see  me,  and 
were  also  very  kind.  I  staid  there  about  two  hours,  when  a 
French  gentleman,  who  could  speak  good  English,  came  in 
and  told  me  I  must  go  with  him  to  the  governor,  which  I  did ; 
and  after  answering  a  great  many  questions,  and  being  treated 
with  as  much  bread  and  wine  as  I  desired,  I  was  sent  with  an 
officer  to  the  guard-house,  and  led  into  a  small  room,  where 
was  an  Englishman  named  William  Stroud,  a  kinsman  of  the 
Hon.  Judge  Lynd,*  in  New  England.  He  belonged  to  South 
Carolina,  and  had  been  at  Quebec  six  years.  The  governor 
kept  him  confined  for  fear  he  should  leave  him  and  go  to  New 
England,  and  discover  their  strength.  Mr.  Stroud  and  I  were 
kept  in  the  guard-house  one  week,  with  a  sufficiency  of  food 
and  drink.  The  French  gentlemen  kept  coming  in  to  see  me, 
and  I  was  very  civilly  treated  by  them.  I  had  the  better  op 
portunity  of  discoursing  with  them,  as  Mr.  Stroud  was  a  good 
interpreter. 

After  this  we  were  sent  to  prison,  where  I  found  one  James 
Kinlade,  who  was  taken  fourteen  days  before  I  was,  at  Sheep- 
scot,  at  the  eastward,  in  New  England.  I  was  much  pleased 

*  Judge  Lynd  was  connected  by  marriage  to  the  celebrated  Gov.  Hutch- 
inson.  He  presided  at  the  trial  of  Capt.  Preston,  commander  of  the  Bri 
tish  soldiers  in  Boston,  in  1770,  who  fired  upon  and  killed  several  citizens. 
I  have  a  volume  of  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts,  which  belonged 
to  Judge  Lynd  with  the  name  of  the  governor  in  it,  in  his  own  hand. 
In  it  are  numerous  notes  and  corrections  throughout,  and  twenty-four  MS. 
pages  of  additions  at  the  end,  in  the  judge's  hand-writing.  It  seems  tc 
have  been  presented  for  this  purpose  by  the  governor.  Judge  Lynd  died 
*  few  years  after  the  revolution. 


NEHEMIAH   HOW'S  CAPTIVITY. 

with  his  conversation,  esteeming  him  a  man  of  true  piety. 
We  were  kept  in  prison  eight  days,  with  liberty  to  keep  in  the 
room  with  the  prison-keeper.  We  were  daily  visited  by  gen 
tlemen  and  ladies,  who  showed  us  great  kindness  in  giving  us 
money  and  other  things,  and  their  behavior  towards  us  was 
pleasant.  Blessed  be  God  therefor,  for  I  desire  to  ascribe  all 
the  favors  I  have  been  the  partaker  of,  ever  since  my  captivity, 
to  the  abundant  grace  and  goodness  of  a  bountiful  God,  as  the 
first  cause. 

After  this  Mr.  Kinlade  and  I  were  sent  to  another*  prison, 
where  were  twenty-two  seamen  belonging  to  several  parts  of 
our  king's  dominions ;  three  of  them  captains  of  vessels,  viz. 
James  Southerland  of  Cape  Cod,  William  Chipman  of  Mar- 
biehead,  William  Pote  of  Casco  Bay.  This  prison  was  a  large 
house,  built  with  stone  and  lime,  two  feet  thick,  and  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long.  We  had  two  large  stoves 
in  it,  and  wood  enough,  so  that  we  could  keep  ourselves  warm 
in  the  coldest  weather.  We  had  provision  sufficient,  viz.  two 
pounds  of  good  wheat  bread,  one  pound  of  beef,  and  peas 
answerable,  to  each  man,  ready  dressed  every  day. 

When  I  had  been  there  a  few  days,  the  captives  desired  me 
to  lead  them  in  carrying  on  morning  and  evening  devotion, 
which  I  was  willing  to  do.  We  had  a  Bible,  psalm-book,  and 
some  other  good  books.  Our  constant  practice  was  to  read  a 
chapter  in  the  Bible,  and  sing  part  of  a  psalm,  and  to  pray, 
night  and  morning. 

When  I  was  at  the  first  prison,  I  was  stripped  of  all  my  old 
and  lousy  clothes,  and  had  other  clothing  given  me  from  head 
to  foot,  and  had  many  kindnesses  shown  me  by  those  that 
lived  thereabouts ;  more  especially  by  one  Mr.  Corby  and  his 
wife,  who  gave  me  money  there,  and  brought  me  many  good 
things  at  the  other  prison.  But  here  I  was  taken  ill,  as  was 
also  most  of  the  other  prisoners,  with  a  flux,  which  lasted 
near  a  month,  so  that  I  was  grown  very  weak.  After  that  I 
was  healthy,  through  divine  goodness.  Blessed  be  God  for  it. 

I  was  much  concerned  for  rny  country,  especially  for  the 
place  I  was  taken  from,  by  reason  that  I  met  an  army  going 
thither,  as  they  told  me.  The  27th  day  of  November  we  had 
news  come  to  the  prison  that  this  army  had  returned  to  Cham- 
blee,  and  had  taken  upwards  of  a  hundred  captives,  which 
increased  my  concern  ;  for  I  expected  our  fort,  and  others 
thereabouts,  were  destroyed.  This  news  put  me  upon  earnest 
prayer  to  God  that  he  would  give  me  grace  to  submit  to  his 
will" ;  after  which  I  was  easy  in  my  mind. 

About  a  fortnight  after,  a  Dutchman  was  brought  to  prison 
who  was  one  of  the  captives  the  said   army  had  taken.     He 
12 


134  NEHEMIAH  HOW'S  CAPTIVITY. 

told  me  they  had  burnt  Mr.  Lydin's  fort,  and  all  the  houses  at 
that  new  township,  killed  Capt.  Schuyler  and  five  or  six  more, 
and  had  brought  fifty  whites  and  about  sixty  negroes  to  Mont 
real.  I  was  sorry  to  hear  of  so  much  mischief  done,  but 
rejoiced  they  had  not  been  upon  our  river,  and  the  towns 
thereabouts,  for  which  I  gave  thanks  to  God  for  his  great  good 
ness  in  preserving  them,  and  particularly  my  family. 

When  Christmas  came,  the  governor  sent  us  twenty-four 
livres,  and  the  lord-intendant  came  into  the  prison  and  gave 
us  twenty-four  more,  which  was  about  two  guineas.  He  told 
us  he  hoped  we  should  be  sent  home  in  a  little  time.  He  was 
a  pleasant  gentleman,  and  very  kind  to  captives.  Some  time 
after,  Mr.  Shearsy,  a  gentleman  of  quality,  came  to  us,  and 
gave  to  the  three  sea  captains  twenty-four  livers,  and  to  me 
twelve,  and  the  next  day  sent  me  a  bottle  of  claret  wine. 
About  ten  days  after  he  sent  me  twelve  livres  more ;  in  all 
eight  pounds,  old  tenor. 

January  20th,  1746,  eighteen  captives  were  brought  from 
Montreal  to  the  prison  at  Quebec,  which  is  180  miles. 

February  22d,  seven  captives  more,  who  were  taken  at 
Albany,  were  brought  to  the  prison  to  us,  viz.  six  men  and  one 
old  woman  seventy  years  old,  who  had  been  so  infirm  for 
seven  years  past  that  she  had  not  been  able  to  walk  the  streets, 
yet  performed  this  tedious  journey  with  ease. 

March  15th,  one  of  the  captives  taken  at  Albany,  after  four 
teen  or  fifteen  days'  sickness,  died  in  the  hospital  at  Quebec, 
— a  man  of  a  sober,  pious  conversation.  His  name  was  Law 
rence  Plaffer,  a  German  born. 

May  3d,  three  captives  taken  at  No.  Four,  sixteen  miles 
above  where  I  was  taken,  viz.  Capt.  John  Spafford,  Isaac  Par 
ker,  and  Stephen  Farnsworth,  were  brought  to  prison  to  us. 
They  informed  me  my  family  was  well,  a  few  days  before  they 
were  taken,  which  rejoiced  me  much.  I  was  sorry  for  the 
misfortune  of  these  my  friends,  but  was  glad  of  their  company, 
and  of  their  being  well  used  by  those  who  took  them. 

May  14th,  two  captives  were  brought  into  prison,  Jacob 
Read  and  Edward  Cloutman,  taken  at  a  new  township  called 
Gorhamtown,  near  Casco  Bay.  They  informed  us  that  one 
man  and  four  children  of  one  of  them  were  killed,  and  his  wife 
taken  at  the  same  time  with  them,  and  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Indians.*5 

May  16th,  two  lads,  James  and  Samuel  Anderson,  brothers, 
taken  at  Sheepscot,  were  brought  to  prison.  On  the  17th, 

*  Gorhamtown  was  attacked  in  the  morning  of  the  19th  April,  1746, 
by  a  party  o\  about  ten  Indians. —  MS.  Chnmitles  of  the  Indians. 


NEHEMTAH  HOW'S   CAPTIVITY.  135 

I 

Samuel  Burbank  and  David  Woodwell,  who  were  taken  a* 
New  Hopkinton,  near  Rumford,  [Concord,  N.  H.]  were  brought  ! 

to  prison,  and  informed  us  there  were  taken  with  them  two 
sons  of  the  said  Burbank,  and  the  wife,  two  sons  and  a 
daughter  of  the  said  Woodwell,  whom  they  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  Indians. 

May  24th,  Thomas  Jones,  of  Holliston,  who  was  a  soldier 
at  Contoocook,  was  brought  to  prison,  and  told  us  that  one 
Elisha  Cook,  and  a  negro  belonging  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stevens, 
were  killed  when  he  was  taken. 

June  1st,  William  Aikings,  taken  at  Pleasant  Point,  near 
fort  George,  was  brought  to  prison.  June  2d,  Mr.  Shearly 
brought  several  letters  of  deacon  Timothy  Brown,  of  Lower 
Ashuelot,  and  money,  and  delivered  them  to  me,  which  made 
me  think  he  was  killed  or  taken.  A  few  days  after,  Mr. 
Shearly  told  me  he  was  taken.  I  was  glad  to  hear  he  was 
alive. 

June  6th,  Timothy  Cummings,  aged  60,  was  brought  to 
prison,  who  informed  us  he  was  at  work  with  five  other  men, 
about  forty  rods  from  the  block-house,  George's  [fort,]  when 
five  Indians  shot  at  them,  but  hurt  none.  The  men  ran  away, 
and  left  him  and  their  guns  to  the  Indians.  He  told  us  that 
the  ensign  was  killed  as  he  stood  on  the  top  of  the  fort,  and 
that  the  English  killed  five  Indians  at  the  same  time. 

June  13th,  Mr.  Shearly  brought  to  the  captives  some  let 
ters  which  were  sent  from  Albany,  and  among  them  one  from 
Lieut.  Gov.  Phips,  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  the  governor 
of  Canada,  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  which  gave  us  great 
hopes  of  a  speedy  release. 

June  22d,  eight  men  were  brought  to  prison,  among  whom 
were  deacon  Brown  and  Robert  Morse,  who  informed  me  that 
there  were  six  or  eight  Indians  killed,  a  little  before  they  were 
taken,  at  Upper  Ashuelot,  and  that  they  learnt,  by  the  Indians 
who  took  them,  there  were  six  more  of  the  English  killed  at 
other  places  near  Connecticut  river,  and  several  more  much 
wounded ;  these  last  were  supposed  to  be  the  wife  and  chil 
dren  of  the  aforesaid  Burbank  and  Woodwell. 

July  5th,  we  sent  a  petition  to  the  chief  governor  that  we 
might  be  exchanged,  and  the  7th,  Mr.  Shearly  told  us  we 
should  be  exchanged  for  other  captives  in  a  little  time,  which 
caused  great  joy  among  us.  The  same  day,  at  night,  John 
Berran,  of  Northfield,  was  brought  to  prison,  who  told  us  that 
an  expedition  against  Canada  was  on  foot,  which  much 
rejoiced  us.  He  also  told  us  of  the  three  fights  in  No.  Four, 
and  who  were  killed  and  taken,  and  of  the  mischief  done  in 
other  places  near  Connecticut  river,  and  that  my  brother  Dan- 


136  NEHEMIAH  HOW'S  CAPTIVITY. 

iel  How's  son  Daniel  was  taken  with  him,  and  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Indians,  who  designed  to  keep  him. 

July  20th,  John  Jones,  a  seaman,  was  brought  into  prison, 
who  told  us  he  was  going  from  Cape  Breton  to  Newfound 
land  with  one  Englishman  and  four  Frenchmen,  who  had 
sworn  allegiance  to  King  George,  and  in  the  passage  they 
killed  the  other  Englishman,  but  carried  him  to  the  bay  of 
Arb,  where  there  was  an  army  of  French  and  Indians,  to 
whom  they  delivered  him,  and  by  them  was  sent  to  Quebec. 

July  21st,  John  Richards  and  a  boy  of  nine  or  ten  years  of 
age,  who  belonged  to  Rochester,  in  New  Hampshire,  were 
brought  to  prison.  They  told  us  there  were  four  Englishmen 
killed  when  they  were  taken. 

August  15th,  seven  captives,  who  with  eight  more  taken 
at  St.  John's  Island,  were  brought  to  prison.  They  told  us 
that  several  were  killed  after  quarters  were  given,  among 
whom  was  James  Owen,  late  of  Brookfield,  in  New  England. 
On  the  16th,  Thomas  Jones,  late  of  Sherburne,  in  New  Eng 
land,  after  seven  or  eight  days'  sickness,  died.  He  gave  good 
satisfaction  as  to  his  future  state.  On  the  25th  we  had  a 
squall  of  snow. 

September  12th,  Robert  Downing,  who  had  been  a  soldier 
at  Cape  Breton,  and  was  taken  at  St.  Johns,  and  who  was 
with  the  Indians  two  months,  and  suffered  great  abuse  from 
them,  was  brought  to  prison. 

On  the  15th,  twenty-three  of  the  captives  taken  at  Hoosuck 
fort  were  brought  to  prison,  among  whom  was  the  Rev.  Mr. 
John  Norton.  They  informed  us  that  after  fighting  twenty- 
five  hours,  with  eight  hundred  French  and  Indians,  they  sur 
rendered  themselves,  on  capitulation,  prisoners  of  war;  that 
Thomas  Nalton  and  Josiah  Read  were  killed  when  they  were 
taken.  The  names  of  those  now  brought  in  are  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Norton,  John  Hawks,  John  Smead,  his  wife  and  six  children, 
John  Perry  and  his  wife,  Moses  Scott,  his  wife  and  two  children, 
Samuel  Goodman,  Jonathan  Bridgman,  Nathan  Eames,  Jo 
seph  Scott,  Amos  Pratt,  Benjamin  Sinconds,  Samuel  Lovet, 
David  Warren,  and  Phinehas  Furbush.  The  two  last  of  these 
informed  me  that  my  brother  Daniel  How's  son  was  taken 
from  the  Indians,  and  now  lives  with  a  French  gentleman  at 
Montreal.  There  were  four  captives  more  taken  at  Albany, 
the  last  summer,  who  were  brought  to  prison  the  same  day. 

On  the  26th  (Sept.)  74  men  and  two  women,  taken  at  sea, 
were  brought  to  prison.  October  1st,  Jacob  Shepard,  of 
Westborough,  taken  at  Hoosuck,  was  brought  to  prison.  On 
the  3d,  Jonathan  Batherick  was  brought  in,  and  on  the  5th, 
seventeen  other  men,  three  of  whom  were  taken  with  Mr. 


NEHEMIAH  HOW'S  CAPTIVITY.  137 

Norton  and  others,  viz.  Nathaniel  Hitchcock,  John  Aldrick, 
and  Stephen  Scott.  Richard  Subs,  who  was  taken  at  New 
Casco,  says  one  man  was  killed  at  the  same  time.  Also  Pike 
Gooden,  taken  at  Saco,  was  brought  to  prison.  He  says  he 
had  a  brother  killed  at  the  same  time.  On  the  12th,  twenty- 
four  seamen  are  brought  in,  and  on  the  19th,  six  more.  On 
the  20th,  Jacob  Read  died.  On  the  23d,  Edward  Cloutman 
and  Robert  Dunbar  broke  prison  and  escaped  for  New  Eng 
land.  The  27th,  a  man  was  brought  into  prison,  who  said  the 
Indians  took  five  more  [besides  himself],  and  brought  ten  scalps 
to  Montreal. 

November  1st,  John  Read  died.  The  9th,  John  Davis, 
taken  with  Mr.  Norman,  died.  The  17th,  Nathan  Eames,  of 
Marlborough,  died.  On  the  19th,  Mr.  Adams,  taken  at  Sheep- 
scot,  is  brought  to  prison.  He  says  that  James  Anderson's 
father  was  killed,  and  his  uncle  taken  at  the  same  time.  The 
20th,  Leonard  Lydle  and  the  widow  Sarah  Briant  were  mar 
ried  in  Canada,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Norton.  On  the  22d,  the 
abovesaid  Anderson's  uncle  was  brought  to  prison.  Two 
days  after,  (24th)  John  Bradshaw  died.  He  had  not  been  well 
for  most  of  the  time  he  had  been  a  prisoner.  It  is  a  very 
melancholy  time  with  us.  There  are  now  thirty  sick,  and 
deaths  among  us  daily.  Died  on  the  28th,  Jonathan  Dunham, 
and  on  the  29th,  died  also  Capt.  Bailey  of  Amesbury. 

December  1st,  an  Albany  man  died,  and  on  the  6th,  Pike 
Gooden,  who,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  made  a  happy  change. 
On  the  7th,  a  girl  often  years  died.  The  llth,  Moses  Scott's 
wife  died,  and  on  the  15th,  one  of  Captain  Robertson's  lieuten 
ants.  Daniel  WoodwelPs  wife  died  on  the  18th,  a  pious  wo 
man.  John  Perry's  wife  died  the  23d.  On  the  26th,  William 
Dayly,  of  New  York,  died. 

January  3d,  1747,  Jonathan  Harthan  died.  On  the  12th, 
Phinehas  Andrews,  of  Cape  Ann,  died.  He  was  one  of  the 
twenty  captives,  who,  the  same  night,  had  been  removed  to 
another  prison,  hoping  thereby  to  get  rid  of  the  infection. 
Jacob  Bailey,  brother  to  Capt.  Bailey,  died  the  15th,  and  the 
17th,  Giat  Braban,  Captain  Chapman's  carpenter,  died.  On 
the  23d,  Samuel  Lovet,  son  of  Major  Lovet,  of  Mendon,  in 
New  England,  died. 

February  10th,  William  Garwafs  died,  also  the  youngest 
child  of  Moses  Scott.  The  15th,  my  nephew,  Daniel  How,  and 
six  more  were  brought  down  from  Montreal  to  Quebec,  viz. 
John  Sunderland,  John  Smith,  Richard  Smith,  William  Scott, 
Philip  Scoffil,  and  Benjamin  Tainter,  son  to  Lieutenant  Tainter 
of  Westborough  in  New  England.  The  23d,  Richard  Bermet 
died,  and  the  25th,  Michael  Dugon. 
12* 


138  NEHEMIAH  HOW'S  CAPTIVITY. 

March  18th,  James  Margra  died,  and  on  the  22d,  Capt.  John 
Fort  and  Samuel  Goodman ;  the  28th,  the  wife  of  John  Smead 
died,  and  left  six  children,  the  youngest  of  whom  was  born  the 
second  night  after  the  mother  was  taken. 

April  7th,  Philip  Scaffield,  [Scofield  ?]  and  next  day  John 
Saneld,  the  next  day  Capt.  James  Jordan  and  one  of  his  men, 
died.  On  the  12th,  Amos  Pratt,  of  Shrewsbury,  and  on  the 
14th,  Timothy  Cummings,  the  17th,  John  Dill,  of  Hull  in  New 
England,  the  18th,  Samuel  Venhon,  of  Plymouth,  died.  On 
the  26th,  Capt.  Jonathan  Williamson  was  brought  to  prison. 
He  was  taken  at  the  new  town  on  Sheepscot  river.  The 
same  day  came  in,  also,  three  men  who  were  taken  at  Albany, 
three  weeks  before,  and  tell  us  that  thirteen  were  killed,  Capt. 
Trent  being  one.  They  were  all  soldiers  for  the  expedition  to 
Canada.  On  the  27th,  Joseph  Denox,  and  the  28th,  Samuel 
Evans,  died.  The  same  night  the  prison  took  fire,  and  was 
burnt,  but  the  things  therein  were  mostly  saved.  We  v/ere 
kept  that  night  under  a  guard. 

May  7th,  Sarah  Lydle,  whose  name  was  Braint  when  she 
was  taken,  and  married  while  a  captive,  died,  and  the  13th,  Mr. 
Srnead's  son  Daniel  died,  and  Christian  Tether  the  14th.  The 
same  day  died  also  Hezekiah  Huntington,  a  hopeful  youth,  of 
a  liberal  education.  He  was  a  son  of  Colonel  Huntington  of 
Connecticut,  in  New  England.  On  the  15th,  Joseph  Grey, 
and  on  the  19th  Samuel  Burbank,  died.  At  the  same  time 
died  two  children  who  were  put  out  to  the  French  to  nurse. 

At  this  time  I  received  a  letter  from  Major  Willard,  dated 
March  17th,  1747,  wherein  he  informs  me  my  family  were 
well,  which  was  joyful  news  to  me.  May  19th,  Abraham 
Fort  died. 

[Here  ends  the  journal  of  Mr.  How,  exceedingly  valuable 
for  the  many  items  of  exact  intelligence  therein  recorded,  rela 
tive  to  so  many  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  New  England, 
through  those  friends  who  endured  the  hardships  of  captivity 
in  the  mountain  deserts  and  the  damps  of  loathsome  prisons. 
Had  the  author  lived  to  have  returned,  and  published  his  nar 
rative  himself,  he  doubtless  would  have  made  it  far  more  valu 
able,  but  he  was  cut  off  while  a  prisoner,  by  the  prison  fever, 
in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  after  a  captivity  of  one  year, 
seven  months,  and  fifteen  days.  He  died  May  25th,  1747,  in 
the  hospital  at  Quebec,  after  a  sickness  of  about  ten  days. 
He  was  a  husband  and  father,  and  greatly  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  him. — Ed.] 


139 


PARTICULARS    RELATING   TO    THE    CAPTIVITY 

OP  JOHN  FITCH,  OF  ASHBY,  MASS.  RELATED  BY  MR.  ENOS 
JONES,  OF  ASHBURNHAM. 

THE  town  of  Lunenburg,  in  Massachusetts,  was  incorpo 
rated  August  1,  1728,  and  received  its  name  in  compliment 
to  George  II.,  who,  the  preceding  year,  came  to  the  British 
throne,  and  was  styled  Duke  of  Luneriburg,  having  in  his 
German  dominions  a  town  of  that  name.  On  the  3d  of  Feb 
ruary,  1764,  a  part  of  Lunenburg  was  detached  and  incorpo 
rated  as  a  distinct  town  by  the  name  of  Fitchburg.  In  1767, 
a  part  of  Fitchburg  was  disannexed  to  aid  in  forming  the  town 
of  Ashby.  Mr.  John  Fitch  lived  on  the  frontiers  of  the  county, 
in  the  tract  now  included  in  Ashby.  After  the  commencement 
of  the  French  and  Indian  war  of  1745,  Fitch  proposed  to  the 
government  to  keep  a  garrison,  with  the  aid  of  three  soldiers, 
who  were  immediately  despatched  to  him.  Mr.  Fitch  was  a 
gentleman  of  much  enterprise,  arid  had  had  considerable  deal 
ings  with  the  Indians  in  peltries,  furs,  &c.,  and  was  generally 
well  known  among  them.  Soon  after  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  they  determined  to  make  him  a  prisoner;  and  in  July, 
1746-7,  they  came  into  the  vicinity  to  the  number  of  about 
eighty.  The  inhabitants  of  the  garrison  were  Fitch,  his  wife, 
five  children,  and  the  three  soldiers.  One  of  these  last  left 
the  garrison  early  in  the  morning  of  the  disaster,  on  furlough, 
to  visit  a  house  at  the  distance  of  three  or  four  miles. 
Another  went  out  in  quest  of  game.  He  had  not  proceeded 
far  when  he  discovered  the  Indians  crawling  in  the  high  grass 
between  him  and  the  garrison.  He  attempted  to  return,  but 
was  instantly  shot  down.  One  soldier  only  remained  with 
Fitch  and  his  family ;  and  they  determined  to  defend  them 
selves  to  the  best  of  their  power.  The  soldier,  whose  name 
was  Jennings,  fired  several  times,  when  an  Indian  shot  him 
through  the  neck,  and  he  fell.  Mrs.  Fitch  regularly  loaded 
the  guns  for  her  husband,  and  they  continued  to  defend  them 
selves  for  some  time ;  when  the  Indians  informed  them  that  if 
they  would  surrender  they  should  have  quarter,  but  if  they 
refused  they  should  perish  in  the  flames  of  the  garrison. 
After  some  consultation  with  his  wife,  Fitch  concluded  to  sur 
render.  The  Indians  then  burned  the  garrison ;  and  after 
committing  various  mischiefs  in  the  neighborhood,  they  took 
the  captive  family  to  Canada.  Immediately  after  the  garrison 
was  burnt,  Perkins,  the  soldier  on  furlough,  espied  the  smoke, 
and  on  ascending  a  hill  in  the  vicinity  he  could  see  the  ruins. 


140  MARY  FOWLER'S  CAPTIVITY. 

He  immediately  gave  the  alarm,  and  in  the  evening  nearly  an 
hundred  had  assembled  in  arms  for  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 
It  being  dark,  however,  they  concluded  to  wait  till  the  fol 
lowing  morning,  and  ere  day  broke  they  set  out.  After  pro 
ceeding  a  short  distance  in  the  track  of  the  Indians  they  saw 
a  piece  of  paper  tied  to  a  limb  of  a  tree,  which,  on  exam 
ining,  they  found  to  be  in  the  hand-writing  of  Fitch,  request 
ing  them  by  no  means  to  pursue  him,  as  the  Indians  had 
assured  him  of  safety  if  they  were  not  pursued ;  but  would 
destroy  him  if  his  friends  should  attempt  his  rescue.  Upon 
this  the  party  returned  to  their  homes.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  Fitch  and  his  family  were  liberated  ;  and  were  crossing 
the  Connecticut  on  their  return  home,  when  Mrs.  Fitch  took 
cold  and  died.  The  rest  of  the  family  returned,  and  Fitch 
was  afterwards  married  again.  Jennings,  who  was  killed  in 
the  garrison,  was  burnt  in  the  flames.  The  name  of  the  sol 
dier  killed  without  the  garrison  was  Blodget.  The  third  sol 
dier,  whose  name  was  Perkins,  escaped. 


CAPTIVITY  OF  MARY  FOWLER,  OF  HOPKINTON. 

MARY  FOWLER,  formerly  Mary  Woodwell,  now  living  in 
Canterbury  in  this  state,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Hopkinton, 
in  Massachusetts,  May  11,  1730.  Her  parents  moved  to  Hop 
kinton  in  this  state  when  she  was  about  twelve  years  of  age, 
and  settled  on  the  westerly  side  of  what  is  called  Putney's 
Hill. 

On  the  22d  day  of  April,  in  the  year  1746,  while  in  the 
garrison  at  her  father's  house,  six  Indians,  armed  with  mus 
kets,  tomahawks,  knives,  &o.  broke  into  the  garrison  and  took 
eight  persons  while  in  their  beds,  viz.  the  said  Mary,  her 
parents,  two  of  her  brothers,  Benjamin  and  Thomas,  Samuel 
Burbank,  an  aged  man,  and  his  two  sons,  Caleb  and  Jonathan. 
They  carried  them  through  the  wilderness  to  St.  Francis  in 
Canada.  Here  Mary  and  Jonathan  Burbank  were  detained 
for  the  term  of  three  years,  (though  not  in  one  family,)  and 
the  other  six  were  carried  prisoners  to  Quebec,  where  Bur- 
bank,  the  aged,  and  Mary's  mother  died  of  the  yellow  fever  in 
prison.  The  other  four  were  afterwards  exchanged. 

The  circumstances  relative  to  their  being  taken  were  as 
follows :  Ten  persons,  viz.  the  eight  above  mentioned,  Samuel 
Burbank's  wife  and  a  soldier,  were  secluded  in  the  garrison 
for  fear  of  being  attacked  by  the  Indians,  who  had  been  fre- 


MARY  FOWLER'S   CAPTIVITY.  141 

quently  scouting  through  Hopldnton  and  the  other  adjacent 
towns.  Early  on  the  morning  of  their  captivity,  Samuel  Bur- 
bank  left  the  garrison  and  went  to  the  barn  in  order  to  feed 
the  cattle  before  the  rest  were  up,  leaving  the  door  unfastened. 
The  Indians,  who  lay  near  in  ambush,  immediately  sallied 
forth  and  took  him.  From  this  affrighted  captive  they  got 
information  that  the  garrison  was  weak,  whereupon  they 
rushed  in,  and  took  them  all,  except  the  soldier  who  escaped, 
and  Burbank's  wife,  who  secreted  herself  in  the  cellar.  Du 
ring  this  attack  Mary's  mother,  being  closely  embraced  by  a 
sturdy  Indian,  wrested  from  his  side  a  long  knife,  with  which 
she  was  in  the  act  of  running  him  through,  when  her  husband 
prevailed  with  her  to  desist,  fearing  the  fatal  consequences. 
However,  she  secured  the  deadly  weapon,  and  before  they 
commenced  their  march  threw  it  into  the  well,  from  whence  it 
was  taken  after  the  captives  returned.  Another  Indian  pre 
sented  a  musket  to  Mary's  breast,  intending  to  blow  her 
through,  when  a  chief  by  the  name  of  Pennos,  who  had  pre 
viously  received  numerous  kindnesses  from  her  father's  family, 
instantly  interfered,  and  kept  him  from  his  cruel  design,  taking- 
her  for  his  own  captive. 

After  having  arrived  at  St.  Francis,  Pennos  sold  Mary  to  a 
squaw  of  another  family,  while  J.  Burbank  continued  in  some 
remote  part  of  the  neighborhood  under  his  own  master.  Ma 
ry's  father  and  brothers,  after  they  were  exchanged,  solicited  a 
contribution  for  her  redemption,  which  was  at  last  obtained 
with  great  difficulty  for  one  hundred  livres,  through  the  strata 
gem  of  a  French  doctor ;  all  previous  efforts  made  by  her 
father  and  brothers  having  failed.  This  tender  parent,  though 
reduced  to  poverty  by  the  savages,  and  having  no  pecuniary 
assistance  except  what  he  received  through  the  hand  of  charity 
from  his  distant  friends,  had  frequently  visited  St.  Francis  in 
order  to  have  an  interview  with  his  only  daughter,  and  to 
compromise  with  her  mistress,  offering  her  a  large  sum  for 
Mary's  redemption,  but  all  to  no  effect.  She  refused  to  let  her 
go  short  of  her  weight  in  silver.  Moreover,  Mary  had  pre 
viously  been  told  by  her  mistress  that  if  she  intimated  a  word 
to  her  father  that  she  wanted  to  go  home  with  him,  she  should 
never  see  his  face  again ;  therefore,  when  interrogated  by  him 
on  this  subject,  she  remained  silent,  through  fear  of  worse 
treatment ;  yet  she  could  not  conceal  her  grief,  for  her  internal 
agitation  and  distress  of  mind  caused  the  tears  to  flow  pro 
fusely  from  her  eyes.  Her  father,  at  length,  worn  out  with 
grief  and  toil,  retired  to  Montreal,  where  he  contracted  with  a 
Frenchman  as  "an  ao;ent  to  effect,  if  possible,  the  purchase  of 
his  daughter.  -This  agent,  after  having  attempted  a  compro- 


142  MARY  FOWLER'S  CAPTIVITY. 

raise  several  times  in  vain,  employed  a  French  physician,  who 
was  in  high  reputation  among  the  Indians,  to  assist  him.  The 
doctor,  under  a  cloak  of  friendship,  secretly  advised  Mary  to 
feign  herself  sick,  as  the  only  alternative,  and  gave  her  medi 
cine  for  the  purpose.  This  doctor  was  soon  called  upon  for 
medical  aid ;  and  although  he  appeared  to  exert  the  utmost 
of  his  skill,  yet  his  patient  continued  to  grow  worse.  After 
makmg  several  visits  to  no  effect,  he  at  length  gave  her  over 
as  being  past  recovery,  advising  her  mistress,  as  a  real  friend, 
to  sell  her  the  first  opportunity  for  what  she  could  get,  even  if 
it  were  hut  a  small  sum ;  otherwise,  said  he,  she  will  die  on 
your  hands,  and  you  must  lose  her.  The  squaw,  alarmed  at 
the  doctor's  ceremony,  and  the  dangerous  appearance  of  her 
captive,  immediately  contracted  with  the  French  agent  for  one 
hundred  livres ;  whereupon  Mary  soon  began  to  amend  ;  and 
was  shortly  after  conveyed  to  Montreal,  where  she  continued 
six  months  longer  among  the  French  waiting  for  a  passport. 

Thus  after  having  been  compelled  to  three  years'  hard  labor 
in  planting  and  hoeing  corn,  chopping  and  carrying  wood, 
pounding  samp,  gathering  cranberries  and  other  wild  fruit  for 
the  market,  &c.,  this  young  woman  was  at  length  redeemed 
from  the  merciless  hands  and  cruel  servitude  of  the  savages, 
who  had  not  only  wrested  her  from  her  home,  but  also  from 
the  tender  embraces  of  her  parents,  and  from  all  social  inter 
course  with  her  friends. 

Jonathan  Burbank  was  redeemed  about  the  same  time — be 
came  an  officer,  and  was  afterwards  killed  by  the  Indians  in 
the  French  war.  These  sons  of  the  forest  supposing  him  to 
have  been  Rogers,  their  avowed  enemy,  rushed  upon  him  and 
slew  him  without  ceremony,  after  he  had  given  himself  up  as 
a  prisoner  of  war. 

After  six  months'  detention  among  the  French  at  Montreal, 
Mary  was  conveyed  (mostly  by  water)  to  Albany  by  the  Dutch, 
who  had  proceeded  to  Canada  in  order  to  redeem  their  black 
slaves,  whom  the  Indians  had  previously  taken  and  carried 
thither ;  from  thence  she  was  conducted  to  the  place  of  her 
nativity,  where  she  continued  about  five  years,  and  was  mar 
ried  to  one  Jesse  Corbett,  by  whom  she  had  two  sons.  From 
thence  they  moved  to  Hopkinton  in  this  state,  to  the  place 
where  Mary  had  been  taken  by  the  Indians.  Corbett,  her 
husband,  was  drowned  in  Almsbury  river,  (now  Warner  river,) 
in  Hopkinton,  in  the  year  1759,  in  attempting  to  swim  across 
the  river — was  carried  down  into  the  Contoocook,  thence  into 
the  Merrimack,  and  was  finally  taken  up  in  Dunstable  with 
his  clothes  tied  fast  to  his  head.  Mary  was  afterwards  married 
to  a  Jeremiah  Fowler,  by  whom  she  had  five  children.  She 


KR8.  BO  COT. 


(See  p.  148.) 


MRS.  M'COY'S  CAPTIVITY.  143 

is  now  living  in  Canterbury,  in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health 
and  remarkable  powers  of  mind,  being  in  the  ninety-third  year 
of  her  age.  The  foregoing  narrative  was  written  a  few  weeks 
since  as  she  related  it. 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  OF  MRS.  ISABELLA  M'COY,  WHO  WAS  TA 
KEN  CAPTIVE  AT  EPSOM,  N.  H.,  IN  THE  YEAR  1747.  COL 
LECTED  FROM  THE  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AGED  PEOPLE  WHO 
KNEW  HER,  BY  THE  REV.  JONATHAN  CURTIS,  A  MINISTER 
OF  THAT  TOWN,  ABOUT  SEVENTEEN  YEARS  AGO,  AND  BY 
HIM  COMMUNICATED  TO  THE  PUBLISHERS  OF  THE  NEW 
HAMPSHIRE  HISTORICAL  COLLECTIONS. 

THE  Indians  were  first  attracted  to  the  new  settlements  in 
;he  town  of  Epsom,  N.  H.,  by  discovering  M'Coy  at  Suncook, 
now  Pembroke.  This,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  was  in 
the  year  1747.  Reports  were  spread  of  the  depredations  of 
the  Indians  in  various  places ;  and  M'Coy  had  heard  that  they 
had  been  seen  lurking  about  the  woods  at  Penacook,  now  Con 
cord.  He  went  as  far  as  Pembroke ;  ascertained  that  they 
were  in  the  vicinity ;  was  somewhere  discovered  by  them,  and 
followed  home.  They  told  his  wife,  whom  they  afterwards 
made  prisoner,  that  they  looked  through  cracks  around  the 
house,  and  saw  what  they  had  for  supper  that  night.  They 
however  did  not  discover  themselves  till  the  second  day  after. 
They  probably  wished  to  take  a  little  time  to  learn  the  strength 
and  preparation  of  the  inhabitants.  The  next  day,  Mr*. 
M'Coy,  attended  by  their  two  dogs,  went  down  to  see  if  any  of 
the  other  families  had  returned  from  the  garrison.  She  found 
no  one.  On  her  return,  as  she  was  passing  the  block -house, 
which  stood  near  the  present  site  of  the  meeting-house,  the 
dogs,  which  had  passed  round  it,  came  running  back  growling 
and  very  much  excited.  Their  appearance  induced  her  to 
make  the  best  of  her  way  home.  The  Indians  afterwards  told 
her  that  they  then  lay  concealed  there,  and  saw  the  dogs,  when 
they  came  round. 

M'Coy,  being  now  strongly  suspicious  that  the  Indians  were 
actually  in  the  town,  determined  to  set  off  the  next  day  with 
his  family  for  the  garrison  at  Nottingham.  His  family  now 
consisted  of  himself,  his  wife,  and  son  John.  The  younger 
children  were  still  at  the  garrison.  They  accordingly  secured 
their  house  as  well  as  they  could,  and  all  set  off  next  morning; 


144  MRS.  M'COY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

— M'Coy  and  his  son  with  their  guns,  though  without  ammu 
nition,  having  fired  away  what  they  brought  with  them  in 
hunting. 

As  they  were  travelling  a  little  distance  east  of  the  place 
where  the  meeting-house  now  stands,  Mrs.  M'Coy  fell  a  little 
in  the  rear  of  the  others.  This  circumstance  gave  the  Indians 
a  favorable  opportunity  for  separating  her  from  her  husband 
and  son.  The  Indians,  three  men  and  a  boy,  lay  in  ambush 
near  the  foot  of  Marden's  hill,  not  far  from  the  junction  of  the 
mountain  road  with  the  main  road.  Here  they  suffered  M'Coy 
and  his  son  to  pass ;  but,  as  his  wife  was  passing  them,  they 
reached  from  the  bushes,  and  took  hold  of  her,  charging  her 
to  make  no  noise,  and  covering  her  mouth  with  their  hands,  as 
she  cried  to  her  husband  for  assistance.  Her  husband,  hearing 
her  cries,  turned,  and  was  about  coming  to  her  relief.  But  he 
no  sooner  began  to  advance,  than  the  Indians,  expecting  proba 
bly  that  he  would  fire  upon  them,  began  to  raise  their  pieces, 
which  she  pushed  one  side,  and  motioned  to  her  friends  to 
make  their  escape,  knowing  that  their  guns  were  not  loaded, 
and  that  they  would  doubtless  be  killed,  if  they  approached. 
They  accordingly  ran  into  the  woods  and  made  their  escape  to 
the  garrison.  This  took  place  August  21,  1747. 

The  Indians  then  collected  together  what  booty  they  could 
obtain,  which  consisted  of  an  iron  trammel,  from  Mr.  George 
Wallace's,  the  apples  of  the  only  tree  which  bore  in  town, 
which  was  in  the  orchard  now  owned  by  Mr.  David  Griffin, 
and  some  other  trifling  articles,  and  prepared  to  set  off  with 
their  prisoner  for  Canada. 

Before  they  took  their  departure,  they  conveyed  Mrs.  M'Coy 
to  a  place  near  the  little  Suncook  river,  where  they  left  her  in 
the  care  of  the  young  Indian,  while  the  three  men,  whose 
names  were  afterwards  ascertained  to  be  Plausawa,^  Sabatis, 
and  Christi,  went  away,  and  were  for  some  time  absent.  Dur 
ing  their  absence,  Mrs.  M'Coy  thought  of  attempting  to  make 
her  escape.  She  saw  opportunities,  when  she  thought  she 
might  dispatch  the  young  Indian  with  the  trammel,  which, 
with  other  things,  was  left  with  them,  and  thus  perhaps  avoid 
some  strange  and  barbarous  death,  or  a  long  and  distressing 
captivity.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  she  knew  not  at  what  dis 
tance  the  others  were.  If  she  attempted  to  kill  her  young 
keeper,  she  might  fail.  If  she  effected  her  purpose  in  this,  she 
might  be  pursued  and  overtaken  by  a  cruel  and  revengeful  foe, 
and  then  some  dreadful  death  would  be  her  certain  portion. 

*  These  were  of  the  Arosasruntacook  or  St.  Francis  tribe.  See  Bei- 
knap's  Hist.  N.  H.  vol.  ii.  p.  278. 


MRS.  M'COY'S  CAPTIVITY.  145 

On  the  whole,  she  thought  best  to  endeavor  to  prepare  her 
mind  to  bear  what  might  be  no  more  than  a  period  of  savage 
captivity.  Soon,  however,  the  Indians  returned,  and  put  an 
end  for  the  present  to  all  thoughts  of  escape.  From  the  direc 
tion  in  which  they  went  and  returned,  and  from  their  smutty 
appearance,  she  suspected  what  their  business  had  been.  She 
told  them  she  guessed  they  had  been  burning  her  house. 
Plausawa,  who  could  speak  some  broken  English,  informed 
aer  they  had.^ 

They  now  commenced  their  long  and  tedious  journey  to 
Canada,  in  which  the  poor  captive  might  well  expect  that  great 
and  complicated  sufferings  would  be  her  lot.  She  did  indeed 
find  the  journey  fatiguing,  and  her  fare  scanty  and  precarious. 
But,  in  her  treatment  from  the  Indians,  she  experienced  a  very 
agreeable  disappointment.  The  kindness  she  received  from 
them  was  far  greater  than  she  had  expected  from  those  who 
were  so  often  distinguished  for  their  cruelties.  The  apples 
they  had  gathered  they  saved  for  her,  giving  her  one  every 
day.  In  this  way,  they  lasted  her  as  far  on  the  way  as  lake 
Champlain.  They  gave  her  the  last,  as  they  were  crossing 
that  lake  in  their  canoes.  This  circumstance  gave  to  the  tree, 
on  which  the  apples  grew,  the  name  of  "  Isabellas  tree,"  her 
name  being  Isabella.  In  many  ways  did  they  appear  desirous 
of  mitigating  the  distresses  of  their  prisoner  while  on  their 
tedious  journey.  When  night  came  on,  and  they  halted  to 
repose  themselves  in  the  dark  wilderness,  Plausawa,  the  head 
man,  would  make  a  little  couch  in  the  leaves  a  little  way  from 
theirs,  cover  her  up  with  his  own  blanket ;  and  there  she  was 
suffered  to  sleep  undisturbed  till  morning.  When  they  came 
to  a  river,  which  must  be  forded,  one  of  them  would  carry  her 
over  on  his  back.  Nothing  like  insult  or  indecency  did  they 
ever  offer  her  during  the  whole  time  she  was  with  them.  They 
carried  her  to  Canada,  and  sold  her  as  a  servant  to  a  French 
family,  whence,  at  the  close  of  that  war,  she  returned  home. 
But  so  comfortable  was  her  condition  there,  and  her  husband 
being  a  man  of  rather  a  rough  and  violent  temper,  she  declared 
she  never  should  have  thought  of  attempting  the  journey  home, 
were  it  not  for  the  sake  of  her  children. 

After  the  capture  of  Mrs.  M'Coy,  the  Indians  frequently 
visited  the  town,  but  never  committed  any  very  great  depreda 
tions.  The  greatest  damage  they  ever  did  to  the  property  of 
the  inhabitants  was  the  spoiling  of  all  the  ox-teams  in  town. 
At  the  time  referred  to,  there  were  but  four  yoke  of  oxen  in 

*  The  writer  has  a  piece  of  the  iron-ware,  which  was  melted  down  ia 
the  burning  of  the  house. 

10 


146  MRS.  M'COY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

Ahe  place,  viz.  M'Coy's,  Capt.  M'Clary's,  George  Wallace  s 
and  Lieut.  Blake's.  It  was  a  time  of  apprt/iension  from  the 
Indians ;  and  the  inhabitants  had  therefore  all  fled  to  the  gar 
rison  at  Nottingham.  They  left  their  oxen  to  graze  about  the 
woods,  with  a  bell  upon  one  of  them.  The  Indians  found  them, 
shot  one  out  of  each  yoke,  took  out  their  tongues,  made  a 
|)rize  of  the  bell,  and  left  them. 

The  ferocity  and  cruelty  of  the  savages  were  doubtless  very 
much  averted  by  a  friendly,  conciliating  course  of  conduct  in 
Ihe  inhabitants  towards  them.  This  was  particularly  the  ease 
in  the  course  pursued  by  sergeant  Blake.  Being  himself  a 
Curious  marksman  and  an  expert  hunter,  traits  of  character  in 
Jtheir  view  of  the  highest  order,  he  soon  secured  their  respect; 
and,  by  a  course  of  kind  treatment,  he  secured  their  friendship 
to  such  a  degree,  that,  though  they  had  opportunities,  they 
would  not  injure  him  even  in  time  of  war. 

The  first  he  ever  saw  of  them  was  a  company  of  them  mak 
ing  towards  his  house,  through  the  opening  from  the  top  of 
Sanborn's  hill.  He  fled  to  the  woods,  and  there  lay  concealed, 
till  they  had  made  a  thorough  search  about  his  house  and  en 
closures,  and  had  gone  off.  The  next  time  his  visitors  came, 
he  was  constrained  to  become  more  acquainted  with  them,  and 
to  treat  them  Avith  more  attention.  As  he  was  busily  engaged 
towards  the  close  of  the  day  in  completing  a  yard  for  his  cow, 
the  declining  sun  suddenly  threw  along  several  enormous  sha 
dows  on  the  ground  before  him.  He  had  no  sooner  turned  to 
see  the  cause,  than  he  found  himself  in  the  company  of  a 
number  of  stately  Indians.  Seeing  his  perturbation,  they  pat 
ted  him  on  the  head,  and  told  him  not  to  be  afraid,  for  they 
would  not  hurt  him.  They  then  went  with  him  into  his 
house  ;  and  their  first  business  was  to  search  all  his  bottles  to 
see  if  he  had  any  "  occapee"  rum.  They  then  told  him  they 
were  very  hungry,  and  wanted  something  to  eat.  He  happened 
to  have  a  quarter  of  a  bear,  which  he  gave  them.  They  took 
it  and  threw  it  whole  upon  the  fire,  and  very  soon  began  to 
Cut  and  eat  from  it  half  raw.  While  they  were  eating,  he 
employed  himself  in  cutting  pieces  from  it,  and  broiling  upon 
a  stick  for  them,  which  pleased  them  very  much.  After  their 
repast,  they  wished  for  the  privilege  of  lying  by  his  fire  through 
the  night,  which  he  granted.  The  next  morning,  they  pro 
posed  trying  skill  with  him  in  firing  at  a  mark.  To  this  he 
acceded.  But  in  this,  finding  themselves  outdone,  they  were 
much  astonished  and  chagrined  ;  nevertheless  they  highly 
commended  him  for  his  skill,  patting  him  on  the  head,  and 
telling  him  if  he  would  go  off  xoith  them  they  would  make  him 


CAPTIVITY  OF  PETER  WILLIAMSON.  147 

ikeir  big  captain.     They  used  often  to  call  upon  him,  and  his 
kindness  to  them  they  never  forgot  even  in  time  of  war. 

Plausawa  had  a  peculiar  manner  of  doubling  his  lip,  and 
producing  a  very  shrill  piercing  whistle,  which  might  be  heard 
a  great  distance.  At  a  time,  when  considerable  danger  was 
apprehended  from  the  Indians,  Blake  went  off  into  the  woods 
alone,'  though  considered  hazardous,  to  look  for  his  cow,  that 
was  missing.  As  he  was  passing  along  by  Sinclair's  brook, 
an  unfrequented  place,  northerly  from  M'Coy's  mountain,  a 
very  loud  sharp  whistle,  which  he  knew  to  be  Plausawa's, 
suddenly  passed  through  his  head,  like  the  report  of  a  pistol. 
The  sudden  alarm  almost  raised  him  from  the  ground ;  and, 
with  a  very  light  step,  he  soon  reached  home  without  his  cow. 
In  more  peaceable  times,  Plausawa  asked  him  if  he  did  not 
remember  the  time,  and  laughed  very  much  to  think  how  he 
ran  at  the  fright,  and  told  him  the  reason  for  his  whistling. 
"  Young  Indian,"  said  he,  "  put  up  gun  to  shoot  Englishman. 
Me  knock  it  down,  and  whistle  to  start  you  off."  So  lasting  is 
their  friendship,  when  treated  well.  At  the  close  of  the  wars, 
the  Indians  built  several  wigwams  near  the  confluence  of  Wal 
lace's  brook  with  the  great  Suncook.  On  a  little  island  in  this 
river,  near  the  place  called  "  short  falls,"  one  of  them  lived 
for  a  considerable  time.  Plausawa  and  Sabatis  were  finally 
both  killed  in  time  of  peace  by  one  of  the  whites,  after  a  drunk 
en  quarrel,  and  buried  near  a  certain  brook  in  Boscawen. 


A    FAITHFUL    NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  PETER  WILLIAMSON,  WHO  SETTLED 
NEAR  THE  FORKS  OF  THE  DELAWARE  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 
HAVING  BEEN  TAKEN  BY  THE  INDIANS  IN  HIS  OWN 
HOUSE,  OCTOBER  2d,  1754.— WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF. 

I  WAS  born  within  ten  miles  of  the  town  of  Aberdeen,  in  the 
north  of  Scotland,  of  reputable  parents.  At  eight  years  of  age, 
being  a  sturdy  boy,  I  was  taken  notice  of  by  two  fellows  be 
longing  to  a  vessel,  employed  (as  the  trade  then  was)  by  some 
of  the  worthy  merchants  of  Aberdeen  in  that  villanous  and 
execrable  practice  of  stealing  young  children  from  their  parents, 
and  selling  them  as  slaves  in  the  plantations  abroad,  and  on 
board  the  ship  I  was  easily  cajoled  by  them,  where  I  was  con 
ducted  between  decks,  to  some  others  they  had  kidnapped  in 
the  same  manner,  and  in  about  a  month's  time  set  sail  for 
America.  \Vhen  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  the  captain  sold  us 


148  CAPTIVITY  OF  PETER  WILLIAMSON. 

at  about  sixteen  pounds  per  head.  What  became  of  my  un 
happy  companions  I  never  knew ;  but  it  was  my  lot  to  be  sold 
for  seven  years,  to  one  of  my  countrymen,  who  had  in  his 
youth  been  kidnapped  like  myself,  but  from  another  town. 

Having  no  children  of  his  own,  and  commiserating  my  con 
dition,  he  took  care  of  me,  indulged  me  in  going  to  school, 
where  I  went  every  winter  for  five  years,  and  made  a  tolerable 
proficiency.  With  this  good  master  I  continued  till  he  died, 
and,  as  a  reward  for  my  faithful  service,  he  left  me  two  hun 
dred  pounds  currency,  which  was  then  about  an  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds  sterling,  his  best  horse,  saddle,  and  all  his 
wearing  apparel. 

Being  now  seventeen  years  old,  and  my  own  master,  having 
money  in  my  pocket,  and  all  other  necessaries,  I  employed 
myself  in  jobbing  for  near  seven  years ;  when  I  resolved  to 
settle,  and  married  the  daughter  of  a  substantial  planter.  My 
father-in-law  made  me  a  deed  of  gift  of  a  tract  of  land  that  lay 
(unhappily  for  me,  as  it  has  since  proved)  on  the  frontiers  of 
the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  near  the  forks  of  Delaware, 
containing  about  two  hundred  acres,  thirty  of  which  were  well 
cleared  and  fit  for  immediate  use,  on  which  were  a  good  house 
and  barn.  The  place  pleasing  me  well,  I  settled  on  it.  My 
money  I  expended  in  buying  stock,  household  furniture,  and 
implements  for  out-of-door  work ;  and  being  happy  in  a  good 
wife,  my  felicity  was  complete :  but  in  1754,  the  Indians,  who 
had  for  a  long  time  before  ravaged  and  destroyed  other  parts 
of  America  unmolested,  began  now  to  be  very  troublesome  on 
the  frontiers  of  our  province,  where  they  generally  appeared  in 
small  skulking  parties,  committing  great  devastations. 

Terrible  and  shocking  to  human  nature  were  the  barbarities 
daily  committed  by  these  savages  !  Scarce  did  a  day  pass  but 
some  unhappy  family  or  other  fell  victims  to  savage  cruelty. 
Terrible,  indeed,  it  proved  to  me,  as  well  as  to  many  others.  I, 
that  was  now  happy  in  an  easy  state  of  life,  blessed  with  an 
affectionate  and  tender  wife,  became  on  a  sudden  one  of  the 
most  unhappy  of  mankind :  scarce  can  I  sustain  the  shock 
which  forever  recurs  on  recollecting  the  fatal  second  of  Octo 
ber,  1754.  My  wife  that  day  went  from  home,  to  visit  some 
of  her  relations;  as  I  staid  up  later  than  usual,  expecting  her 
return,  none  being  in  the  house  besides  myself,  how  great  was 
my  surprise  and  terror,  when,  about  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  I 
heard  the  dismal  war-whoop  of  the  savages,  and  found  that  my 
house  was  beset  by  them.  I  flew  to  my  chamber  window,  and 
perceived  them  to  be  twelve  in  number.  Having  my  gun 
loaded,  I  threatened  them  with  death,  if  they  did  not  retire* 
But  how  vain  and  fruitless  are  the  efforts  of  ens  man  against 


CAPTIVITY  OF  PETER  WILLIAMSON.  149 

the  united  force  of  so  many  blood-thirsty  monsters  !  One  of 
them  that  could  speak  English  threatened  me  in  return,  "that 
if  I  did  not  come  out  they  would  burn  me  alive,"  adding,  how 
ever,  "  that  if  I  would  come  out  and  surrender  myself  prisoner 
they  would  not  kill  me."  In  such  deplorable  circumstances,  I 
chose  to  rely  on  their  promises,  rather  than  meet  death  by 
rejecting  them ;  and  accordingly  went  out  of  the  house,  with 
my  gun  in  my  hand,  not  knowing  that  I  had  it.  Immediately 
on  my  approach  they  rushed  on  me  like  tigers,  and  instantly 
disarmed  me.  Having  me  thus  in  their  power,  they  bound  me 
to  a  tree,  went  into  the  house,  plundered  it  of  every  thing  they 
could  carry  off,  and  then  set  fire  to  it,  and  consumed  what  was 
left  before  my  eyes.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  they  set  fire  to 
my  barn,  stable,  and  out-houses,  wherein  were  about  two  hun 
dred  bushels  of  wheat,  six  cows,  four  horses,  and  five  sheep,  all 
which  were  consumed  to  ashes. 

Having  thus  finished  the  execrable  business  about  which 
they  came,  one  of  the  monsters  came  to  me  with  a  tomahawk 
and  threatened  me  with  the  worst  of  deaths  if  I  would  not  go 
with  them.  This  I  agreed  to,  and  then  they  untied  me,  and 
gave  me  a  load  to  carry,  under  which  I  travelled  all  that  night, 
full  of  the  most  terrible  apprehensions,  lest  my  unhappy  wife 
should  likewise  have  fallen  into  their  cruel  power.  At  day 
break  my  infernal  masters  ordered  me  to  lay  down  my  load, 
when,  tying  my  hands  again  round  a  tree,  they  forced  the  blood 
out  at  my  fingers'  ends.  And  then  kindling  a  fire  near  the 
tree  to  which  I  was  bound,  the  most  dreadful  agonies  seized 
me,  concluding  I  was  going  to  be  made  a  sacrifice  to  their 
barbarity.  The  fire  being  made,  they  for  some  time  danced 
round  me  after  their  manner,  whooping,  hollowing  and  shriek 
ing  in  a  frightful  manner.  Being  satisfied  with  this  sort  of 
mirth,  they  proceeded  in  another  manner  :  taking  the  burning 
coals,  and  sticks  flaming  with  fire  at  the  ends,  holding  them  to 
my  face,  head,  hands,  and  feet,  and  at  the  same  time  threaten 
ing  to  burn  me  entirely  if  I  cried  out.  Thus  tortured  as  I  was, 
almost  to  death,  I  suffered  their  brutalities,  without  being  al 
lowed  to  vent  my  anguish  otherwise  than  by  shedding  silent 
tears ;  and  these  being  observed,  they  took  fresh  coals  and 
applied  them  near  my  eyes,  telling  me  my  face  was  wet,  and 
that  they  would  dry  it  for  me,  which  indeed  they  cruelly  did. 
How  I  underwent  these  tortures  has  been  matter  of  wonder  to 
me,  but  God  enabled  me  to  wait 'with  more  than  common 
patience  for  the  deliverance  I  daily  prayed  for. 

At  length  they  sat  down  round  the  fire,  and  roasted  the  meat, 
of  which  they  had  robbed  my  dwelling.  When  they  had  sup 
ped,  they  offered  some  to  me ;  though  it  may  easily  be  imagined 


150  CAPTIVITY  OF  PETER  WILLIAMSON. 

I  had  but  little  appetite  to  eat,  after  the  tortures  and  miseries  I 
had  suffered,  yet  was  I  forced  to  seem  pleased  with  what  they 
offered  me,  lest  by  refusing  it  they  should  reassume  their  hel 
lish  practices.  What  I  could  not  eat  I  contrived  to  hide,  they 
having  unbound  me  till  they  imagined  I  had  eat  all ;  but  then 
they  bound  me  as  before ;  in  which  deplorable  condition  I  was 
forced  to  continue  the  whole  day.  When  the  sun  was  set,  they 
put  out  the  fire,  and  covered  the  ashes  with  leaves,  as  is  their 
usual  custom,  that  the  white  people  might  not  discover  any 
traces  of  their  having  been  there. 

Going  from  thence  along  the  Susquehanna,  for  the  space  of 
six  miles,  loaded  as  I  was  before,  we  arrived  at  a  spot  near  the 
Apalachian  mountains,  or  Blue  hills,  where  they  hid  their 
plunder  under  logs  of  wood.  From  thence  they  proceeded  to 
a  neighboring  house,  occupied  by  one  Jacob  Snider  and  his 
unhappy  family,  consisting  of  his  wife,  five  children,  and  a 
young  man  his  servant.  They  soon  got  admittance  into  the 
unfortunate  man's  house,  where  they  immediately,  without  the 
least  remorse,  scalped  both  parents  and  children  ;  nor  could  the 
tears,  the  shrieks,  or  cries  of  poor  innocent  children  prevent 
their  horrid  massacre.  Having  thus  scalped  them,  and  plun 
dered  the  house  of  every  thing  that  was  movable,  they  set  fire 
to  it,  and  left  the  distressed  victims  amidst  the  flames. 

Thinking  the  young  man  belonging  to  this  unhappy  family 
would  be  of  service  to  them  in  carrying  part  of  their  plunder, 
they  spared  his  life,  and  loaded  him  and  myself  with  what  they 
had  here  got,  and  again  marched  to  the  Blue  hills,  where  they 
stowed  their  goods  as  before.  My  fellow-sufferer  could  not 
support  the  cruel  treatment  which  we  were  obliged  to  suffer, 
and  complaining  bitterly  to  me  of  his  being  unable  to  proceed 
any  farther,  I  endeavored  to  animate  him,  but  all  in  vain,  for 
he  still  continued  his  moans  and  tears,  which  one  of  the  sava 
ges  perceiving,  as  we  travelled  along,  came  up  to  us,  and  with 
his  tomahawk  gave  him  a  blow  on  the  head,  which  felled  the 
unhappy  youth  to  the  ground,  whom  they  immediately  scalped 
and  left.  The  suddenness  of  this  murder  shocked  me  to  that 
degree,  that  I  was  in  a  manner  motionless,  expecting  my  fate 
would  soon  be  the  same :  however,  recovering  my  distracted 
thoughts,  I  dissembled  my  anguish  as  well  as  I  could  from  the 
6arbarians  ;  but  still,  such  was  my  terror,  that  for  some  time  I 
scarce  knew  the  days  of  the  week,  or  what  I  did. 

They  still  kept  on  their"  course  near  the  mountains,  where 
they  lay  skulking  four  or  five  days,  rejoicing  at  the  plunder 
they  had  got.  When  provisions  became  scarce,  they  made 
their  way  towards  Susquehanna,  and  passing  near  another 
house,  inhabited  by  an  old  man,  whose  name  was  John  Adams, 


CAPTIVITY  OF  PETER  WILLIAMSON.  151 

with  his  wife  and  four  small  children,  and  meeting  with  no 
resistance,  they  immediately  scalped  the  mother  and  her  chil 
dren  before  the  old  man's  eyes.  Inhuman  and  horrid  as  this 
was,  it  did  not  satisfy  them ;  for  when  they  had  murdered  the 
poor  woman,  they  acted  with  her  in  such  a  brutal  manner  as 
decency  will  not  permit  me  to  mention.  The  unhappy  hus 
band,  not  being  able  to  avoid  the  sight,  entreated  them  to  put 
an  end  to  his  miserable  being ;  but  they  were  as  deaf  to  the 
tears  and  entreaties  of  this  venerable  sufferer  as  they  had  been 
to  those  of  the  others,  and  proceeded  to  burn  and  destroy  his 
house,  barn,  corn,  hay,  cattle,  and  every  thing  the  poor  man  a 
few  hours  before  was  master  of.  Having  saved  what  they 
thought  proper  from  the  flames,  they  gave  the  old  man,  feeble, 
weak,  and  in  the  miserable  condition  he  then  was,  as  well  as 
myself,  burdens  to  carry,  and  loading  themselves  likewise  with 
bread  and  meat,  pursued  their  journey  towards  the  Great 
swamp.  Here  they  lay  for  eight  or  nine  days,  diverting  them 
selves,  at  times,  in  barbarous  cruelties  on  the  old  man :  some 
times  they  would  strip  him  naked,  and  paint  him  all  over  with 
various  sorts  of  colors ;  at  other  times  they  would  pluck  the 
white  hairs  from  his  head,  and  tauntingly  tell  him  he  was  a 
fool  for  living  so  long,  and  that  they  should  show  him  kindness 
in  putting  him  out  of  the  world.  In  vain  were  all  his  tears, 
for  daily  did  they  tire  themselves  with  the  various  means  they 
tried  to  torment  him ;  sometimes  tying  him  to  a  tree,  and 
whipping  him ;  at  other  times,  scorching  his  furrowed  cheek 
with  red-hot  coals,  and  burning  his  legs  quite  to  the  knees. 
One  night,  after  he  had  been  thus  tormented,  whilst  he  ami  I 
were  condoling  each  other  at  the  miseries  we  daily  suffered, 
twenty-five  other  Indians  arrived,  bringing  with  them  twenty 
scalps  and  three  prisoners,  who  had  unhappily  fallen  into  their 
hands  in  Conogocheague,  a  small  town  near  the  river  Susque- 
hanna,  chiefly  inhabited  by  the  Irish.  These  prisoners  gave 
us  some  shocking  accounts  of  the  murders  and  devastations 
committed  in  their  parts  ;  a  few  instances  of  which  will  en 
able  the  reader  to  guess  at  the  treatment  the  provincials  have 
suffered  for  years  past.  This  party,  who  now  joined  us,  had 
it  not,  I  found,  in  their  power  to  begin  their  violences  so  soon 
as  those  who  visited  rny  habitation  ;  the  first  of  their  tragedies 
being  on  the  25th  of  October,  1754,  when  John  Lewis,  with 
his  wife  and  three  small  children,  were  inhumanly  scalped  and 
murdered,  and  his  house,  barn,  and  every  thing  he  possessed 
burnt  and  destroyed.  On  the  28th,  Jacob  Miller,  with  his  wife 
and  six  of  his  family,  with  every  thing  on  his  plantations, 
shared  the  same  fate.  The  30th,  the  house,  mill,  barn,  twenty 
head  of  cattle,  two  teams  of  horses,  and  every  thing  belonging 


152 


CAPTIVITY  OF  PETER  WILLIAMSON. 


to  George  Folke,  met  with  the  like  treatment,  himself,  wife; 
and  all  his  miserable  family,  consisting  of  nine  in  number,  being 
scalped,  then  cut  in  pieces  and  given  to  the  swine.  One  of 
the  substantial  traders,  belonging  to  the  province,  having  busi 
ness  that  called  him  some  miles  up  the  country,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  these  ruffians,  who  not  only  scalped  him,  but  imme 
diately  roasted  him  before  he  was  dead;  then,  like  cannibals, 
for  want  of  other  food,  eat  his  whole  body,  and  of  his  head 
made,  what  they  called,  an  Indian  pudding. 

From  these  few  instances  of  savage  cruelty,  the  deplorable 
situation  of  the  defenceless  inhabitants,  and  what  they  hourly 
suffered  in  that  part  of  the  globe,  must  strike  the  utmost  hor 
ror,  and  cause  in  every  breast  the  utmost  detestation,  not  only 
against  the  authors,  but  against  those  who,  through  inatten 
tion,  or  pusillanimous  or  erroneous  principles,  suffered  these 
savages  at  first,  unrepelled,  or  even  unmolested,  to  commit 
.such  outrages,  depredations,  and  murders. 

The  three  prisoners  that  were  brought  with  these  additional 
forces,  constantly  repining  at  their  lot,  and  almost  dead  with 
their  excessive  hard  treatment,  contrived  at  last  to  make  their 
escape ;  but  being  far  from  their  own  settlements,  and  not 
knowing  the  country,  were  soon  after  met  by  some  others  of 
the  tribes  or  nations  at  war  with  us,  and  brought  back.  The 
poor  creatures,  almost  famished  for  want  of  sustenance,  having 
had  none  during  the  time  of  their  escape,  were  no  sooner  in 
the  power  of  the  barbarians  than  two  of  them  were  tied  to  a 
tree,  and  a  great  fire  made  round  them,  where  they  remained 
till  they  were  terribly  scorched  and  burnt ;  when  one  of  the 
villains  with  his  scalping-knife  ripped  open  their  bellies,  took 
out  their  entrails,  and  burned  them  before  their  eyes,  whilst 
the  others  were  cutting,  piercing,  and  tearing  the  flesh  from 
their  breasts,  hands,  arms,  and  legs,  with  red-hot  irons,  till 
they  were  dead.  The  third  unhappy  victim  was  reserved  a 
few  hours  longer,  to  be,  if  possible,  sacrificed  in  a  more  cruel 
manner :  his  arms  were  tied  close  to  his  body,  and  a  hole 
being  dug  deep  enough  for  him  to  stand  upright,  he  was  put 
into  it,  and  earth  rammed  and  beat  in  all  round  his  body  up 
to  his  neck,  so  that  his  head  only  appeared  above  ground ; 
they  then  scalped  him,  and  there  let  him  remain  for  three  or 
four  hours  in  the  greatest  agonies ;  after  which  they  made  a 
small  fire  near  his  head,  causing  him  to  suffer  the  most  excru 
ciating  torments ;  whilst  the  poor  creature  could  only  cry  for 
mercy  by  killing  him  immediately,  for  his  brains  were  boiling 
in  his  head.  Inexorable  to  all  he  said,  they  continued  the  fire 
till  his  eyes  gushed  out  of  their  sockets.  Such  agonizing  tor 
ments  did  this  unhappy  creature  suffer  for  near  two  hours 


CAPTIVITY  OF   PETER  WILLIAMSON.  153 

before  he  was  quite  dead.  They  then  cut  off  his  head,  and 
huried  it  with  the  other  bodies;  my  task  being  to  dig  the 
graves ;  which,  feeble  and  terrified  as  I  was,  the  dread  of  suf 
fering  the  same  fate  enabled  me  to  do. 

A  great  snow  now  falling,  the  barbarians  were  fearful  lest 
the  white  people  should,  by  their  tracks,  find  out  their  skulk 
ing  retreats,  which  obliged  them  to  make  the  best  of  their  way 
to  their  winter-quarters,  about  two  hundred  miles  farther  from 
any  plantations  or  inhabitants.  After  a  long  and  painful  jour 
ney,  being  almost  starved,  I  arrived  with  this  infernal  crew  at 
Alamingo.  There  I  found  a  number  of  wigwams  full  of  their 
women  and  children.  Dancing,  singing,  and  shouting  were 
their  general  amusements.  And  in  all  their  festivals  and 
dances  they  relate  what  successes  they  have  had,  and  what 
damages  they  have  sustained  in  their  expeditions ;  in  which  I 
now  unhappily  became  a  part  of  their  theme.  The  severity 
of  the  cold  increasing,  they  stripped  me  of  my  clothes  for  their 
own  use,  and  gave  me  such  as  they  usually  wore  themselves, 
being  a  piece  of  blanket,  and  a  pair  of  moccasons,  or  shoes, 
with  a  yard  of  coarse  cloth,  to  put  round  me  instead  of 
breeches. 

At  Alamingo  I  remained  near  two  months,  till  the  snow  was 
off  the  ground.  Whatever  thoughts  I  might  have  of  making 
rny  escape,  to  carry  them  into  execution  was  impracticable, 
ceing  so  far  from  any  plantations  or  white  people,  and  the 
^evere  weather  rendering  my  limbs  in  a  manner  quite  stiff  and 
motionless  ;  however,  I  contrived  to  defend  myself  against  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather  as  well  as  I  could,  by  making  my 
self  a  little  wigwam,  with  the  bark  of  the  trees,  covering  it 
with  earth,  which  made  it  resemble  a  cave  ;  and,  to  prevent 
the  ill  effects  of  the  cokl,  I  kept  a  good  fire  always  near  the 
door.  My  liberty  of  going  about  was,  indeed,  more  than  I 
could  have  expected,  but  they  well  knew  the  impracticability 
of  my  escaping  from  them.  Seeing  me  outwardly  easy  and 
submissive,  they  would  sometimes  give  me  a  little  meat,  but 
my  chief  food  was  Indian  corn,  At  length  the  time  came 
when  they  were  preparing  themselves  for  another  expedition 
against  the  planters  and  white  people  ;  but  before  they  set  out, 
they  were  joined  by  many  other  Indians. 

As  soon  as  the  snow  was  quite  gone,  they  set  forth  on  their 
journey  towards  the  back  parts  of  the  province  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  all  leaving  their  wives  and  children  behind  in  their 
wigwams.  They  were  now  a  formidable  body,  amounting  to 
near  one  hundred  and  fifty.  My  business  was  to  carry  what 
they  thought  proper  to  load  me  with,  but  they  never  intrusted 
me  with  a  gun.  We  marched  on  several  days  without  any 


154  CAPTIVITY  OF  PETER  WILLIAMSON. 

thing  particular  occurring,  almost  famished  for  want  of  provis 
ions  ;  for  my  part,  I  had  nothing  but  a  few  stalks  of  Indian 
corn,  which  I  was  glad  to  eat  dry ;  nor  did  the  Indians  them 
selves  fare  much  better,  for^  as  we  drew  near  the  plantations 
they  were  afraid  to  kill  any  game,  lest  the  noise  of  their  guns 
should  alarm  the  inhabitants. 

When  we  again  arrived  at  the  Blue  hills,  about  thirty  miles 
from  the  Irish  settlements  before  mentioned,  we  encamped  for 
three  days,  though  God  knows  we  had  neither  tents  nor  any 
thing  else  to  defend  us  from  the  inclemency  of  the  air,  having 
nothing  to  lie  on  by  night  but  the  grass  ;  their  usual  method 
of  lodging,  pitching,  or  encamping,  by  night,  being  in  parcels  of 
ten  or  twelve  men  to  a  fire,  where  they  lie  upon  the  grass  or 
brush  wrapped  up  in  a  blanket,  with  their  feet  to  the  fire. 

During  our  stay  here,  a  sort  of  council  of  war  was  held, 
when  it  was  agreed  to  divide  themselves  into  companies  of 
about  twenty  men  each ;  after  which  every  captain  marched 
with  his  party  where  he  thought  proper.  I  still  belonged  to 
my  old  masters,  but  was  left  behind  on  the  mountains  with  ten 
Indians,  to  stay  till  the  rest  should  return  ;  not  thinking  it 
proper  to  carry  me  nearer  to  Conogocheague,  or  the  other 
plantations. 

Here  I  began  to  meditate  an  escape,  and  though  I  knew  the 
country  round  extremely  well,  yet  I  was  very  cautious  of  giv 
ing  the  least  suspicion  of  any  such  intention.  However,  the 
third  day  after  the  grand  body  left,  my  companions  thought 
proper  to  traverse  the  mountains  in  search  of  game  for  their 
subsistence,  leaving  me  bound  in  such  a  manner  that  I  could 
not  escape.  At  night,  when  they  returned,  having  unbound  me, 
we  aii  sat  down  together  to  supper  on  what  they  had  killed, 
and  soon  after  (being  greatly  fatigued  v/ith  their  day's  excursion) 
th»sy  composed  themselves  to  rest,  as  usual.  I  now  tried  vari 
ous  ways  to  try  whether  it  was  a  scheme  to  prove  my  intentions 
or  not ;  but  after  making  a  noise  and  walking  about,  sometimes 
touching  them  with  my  feet,  I  found  there  was  no  fallacy. 
Then  I  resolved,  if  possible,  to  get  one  of  their  guns,  and,  if 
discovered,  to  die  in  my  defence,  rather  than  be  taken.  For 
that  purpose  I  made  various  efforts  to  get  one  from  under  their 
heads,  (where  they  always  secured  them,)  but  in  vain.  Disap 
pointed  in  this,  I  began  to  despair  of  carrying  my  desijm  into 
execution  ;  yet.  after  a  little  recollection,  and  trusting  myself 
to  the  divine  protection,  I  set  forwards,  naked  and  defenceless 
as  I  was.  Such  was  my  terror,  however,  that  in  going  from 
th^m  I  halted,  and  paused  every  four  or  five  yards,  looking 
fearfully  towards  the  spot  where  1  had  left  them,  lest  th^y 
should  a\v«ke  ana  mics  me ;  but  when  I  was  two  hundred 


CAPTIVITY   OF  PETER   WILLIAMSON.  155 

yards  from  them,  I  mended  my  pace,  and  made  as  much  haste 
as  f  possibly  could  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains;  when,  on  a 
sudden,  I  was  struck  with  the  greatest  terror  at  hearing  the 
wood  cry,  as  it  is  called,  which  the  savages  I  had  left  were 
making  upon  missing  their  charge.  The  more  my  terror  in 
creased  the  faster  I  pushed  on,  and,  scarce  knowing  where  I 
trod,  drove  through  the  woods  with  the  utmost  precipitation, 
sometimes  falling  and  bruising  myself,  cutting  my  feet  and  legs 
against  the  stones  in  a  miserable  manner.  But  faint  and 
maimed  as  I  was,  I  continued  my  flight  till  daybreak,  when, 
without  having  any  thing  to  sustain  nature  but  a  little  corn 
left,  I  crept  into  a  hollow  tree,  where  I  lay  very  snug,  and 
returned  my  prayers  and  thanks  to  the  divine  Being  that  had 
thus  far  favored  my  escape.  But  my  repose  was  in  a  few 
hours  destroyed  at  hearing  the  voices  of  the  savages  near  the 
place  where  I  was  hid,  threatening  and  talking  how  they 
would  use  me  if  they  got  me  again.  However,  they  at  last 
left  the  spot  where  I  heard  them,  and  I  remained  in  my  apart 
ment  all  that  day  without  further  molestation. 

At  night  I  ventured  forwards  again,  frightened ;  thinking 
each  twig  that  touched  me  a  savage.  The  third  day  I  con 
cealed  myself  in  like  manner  as  before,  and  at  night  travelled, 
keeping  off  the  main  road  as  much  as  possible,  which  length 
ened  my  journey  many  miles.  But  how  shall  I  describe  the 
terror  I  felt  on  the  fourth  night,  when,  by  the  rustling  I  made 
among  the  leaves,  a  party  of  Indians,  that  lay  round  a  small 
fire,  which  I  did  not  perceive,  started  from  the  ground,  and, 
seizing  their  arms,  ran  from  the  fire  amongst  the  woods. 
Whether  to  move  forward  or  rest  where  I  was,  I  knew  not, 
when,  to  my  great  surprise  and  joy,  I  was  relieved  by  a  parcel 
of  swine  that  made  towards  the  place  where  I  guessed  the  sav 
ages  to  be  ;  who,  on  seeing  them,  imagined  they  had  caused 
the  alarm,  very  merrily  returned  to  the  fire,  and  lay  again 
down  to  sleep.  Bruised,  crippled,  and  terrified  as  I  was,  I  pur 
sued  my  journey  till  break  of  day,  when,  thinking  myself  safe, 
I  lay  down  under  a  great  log,  and  slept  till  about  noon.  Be 
fore  evening  I  reached  the  summit  of  a  great  hill,  and  looking 
out  if  I  qould  spy  any  habitations  of  white  people,  to  my  inex 
pressible  joy  I  saw  some,  which  I  guessed  to  be  about  ten 
miles'  distance. 

In  the  morning  I  continued  my  journey  towards  the  nearest 
cleared  lands  I  had  seen  the  day  before,  and,  about  four  oVlock 
in  the  afternoon,  arrived  at  the  house  of  John  Bell,  an  old  ac 
quaintance,  where  knocking  at  the  door,  his  wife,  who  opened 
it,  seeing  me  in  such  a  frightful  condition,  flew  from  me, 
screaming,  into  the  house.  This  alarmed  the  whole  family. 


156  MRS.   JEMIMA    HOWE'S   CAPTIVITY. 

who  immediately  fled  to  their  arms,  and  1  was  soon  accosted 
by  the  master  with  his  gun  in  his  hand.  But  on  making  my 
self  known,  (for  he  before  took  me  to  be  an  Indian,)  he  imme 
diately  caressed  me,  as  did  all  his  family,  with  extraordi 
nary  friendship,  the  report  of  my  being  murdered  by  the 
savages  having  reached  them  some  months  before.  For 
two  days  and  nights  they  very  affectionately  supplied  me 
with  all  necessaries,  and  carefully  attended  me  till  my  spirits 
and  limbs  were  pretty  well  recovered,  and  I  thought  myself 
able  to  ride,  when  I  borrowed  of  these  good  people  (whose 
kindness  merits  my  most  grateful  returns)  a  horse  and  some 
clothes,  and  set  forward  for  my  father-in-law's  house  in  Ches 
ter  county,  about  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  thence, 
where  I  arrived  on  the  4th  of  January,  1755,  (but  scarce  one 
of  the  family  could  credit  their  eyes,  believing,  with  the  peo 
ple  I  had  lately  left,  that  I  had  fallen  a  prey  to  the  Indians,) 
where  I  was  received  and  embraced  by  the  whole  family  with 
great  affection.  Upon  inquiring  for  my  dear  wife,  I  found  she 
had  been  dead  two  months !  This  fatal  news  greatly  lessened 
the  joy  I  otherwise  should  have  felt  at  my  deliverance  from 
the  dreadful  state  and  company  I  had  been  in. 


A   PARTICULAR   ACCOUNT    OF    THE    CAPTIVITY 

AND  REDEMPTION  OF  MRS.  JEMIMA  HOWE,  WHO  WAS 
TAKEN  PRISONER  BY  THE  INDIANS  AT  HINSDALE,  NEW 
HAMPSHIRE,  ON  THE  TWENTY  SEVENTH  OF  JULY,  1755, 
AS  COMMUNICATED  TO  DR.  BELKNAP  BY  THE  REV.  BUN 
KER  GAY. 

As  Messrs.  Caleb  Howe,  Hilkiah  Grout,  and  Benjamin 
Gaffield,  who  had  been  hoeing  corn  in  the  meadow,  west  of 
the  river,  were  returning  home,  a  little  before  sunset,  to  a 
place  called  Bridgman's  fort,  they  were  fired  upon  by  twelve 
Indians,  who  had  ambushed  their  path.  Howe  was  on  horse 
back,  with  two  young  lads,  his  children,  behind  him.  A  ball, 
which  broke  his  thigh,  brought  him  to  the  ground.  His  horse 
ran  a  few  rods  and  fell  likewise,  and  both  the  lads  were  taken. 
The  Indians,  in  their  savage  manner  coming  up  to  Howe, 
pierced  his  body  with  a  spear,  tore  off  his  scalp,  stuck  a  hatchet 
in  his  head,  and  left  him  in  this  forlorn  condition.  He  was 
found  alive  the  morning  after,  by  a  party  of  men  from  fort 
Hindsdale ;  and  being  asked  by  one  of  the  party  whether  he 
knew  him,  he  answered,  "  Yes,  I  know  you  all."  *  These  were 
his  last  words,  though  he  did  not  expire  until  after  his  friends 


MRS.   JEMIMA   HOWE'S   CAPTIVITY.  157 

had  arrived  with  him  at  fort  Hindsdale.  Grout  was  so  fortu 
nate  as  to  escape  unhurt.  But  Gaffield,  in  attempting  to  wade 
through  the  river,  at  a  certain  place  which  was  indeed  forda- 
ble  at  that  time,  was  unfortunately  drowned.  Flushed  with 
the  success  they  had  met  with  here,  the  savages  went  directly 
to  Bridgman's  fort.  There  was  no  man  in  it,  and  only  three 
women  and  some  children,  viz.  Mrs.  Jemima  Howe,  Mrs. 
Submit  Grout,  and  Mrs.  Eunice  Gaffield.  Their  husbands  I 
need  not  mention  again,  and  their  feelings  at  this  juncture 
I  will  not  attempt  to  describe.  They  had  heard  the  enemy's 
guns,  but  knew  not  what  had  happened  to  their  friends.  Ex 
tremely  anxious  for  their  safety,  they  stood  longing  to  embrace 
them,  until  at  length,  concluding  from  the  noise  they  heard 
without  that  some  of  them  were  come,  they  unbarred  the  gate 
in  a  hurry  to  receive  them ;  when,  lo !  to  their  inexpressible 
disappointment  and  surprise,  instead  of  their  husbands,  in 
rushed  a  number  of  hideous  Indians,  to  whom  they  and  their 
tender  offspring  became  an  easy  prey,  and  from  whom  they 
had  nothing  to  expect  but  either  an  immediate  death  or  a  long 
and  doleful  captivity.  The  latter  of  these,  by  the  favor  of 
Providence,  turned  out  to  be  the  lot  of  these  unhappy  women 
and  their  still  more  unhappy,  because  more  helpless,  children. 
Mrs.  Gaffield  had  but  one,  Mrs.  Grout  had  three,  and  Mrs. 
Howe  seven.  The  eldest  of  Mrs.  Howe's  was  eleven  years 
old,  and  the  youngest  but  six  months.  The  two  eldest  were 
daughters,  which  she  had  by  her  first  husband,  Mr.  William 
Phipps,  who  was  also  slain  by  the  Indians,  of  which  I  doubt 
not  but  you  have  seen  an  account  in  Mr.  Doolittle's  history. 
It  was  from  the  mouth  of  this  woman  that  I  lately  received  the 
foregoing  account.  She  also  gave  me,  I  doubt  not,  a  true, 
though,  to  be  sure,  a  very  brief  and  imperfect  history  of  her 
captivity,  which  I  here  insert  for  your  perusal.  It  may  per 
haps  afford  you  some  amusement,  and  can  do  no  harm,  if, 
after  it  has  undergone  your  critical  inspection,  you  should  not 
think  it  (or  an  abbreviation  of  it)  worthy  to  be  preserved  among 
the  records  you  are  about  to  publish. 

The  Indians  (she  says)  having  plundered  and  put  fire  to 
the  fort,  we  marched,  as  near  as  I  could  judge,  a  mile  and  a 
half  into  the  woods,  where  we  encamped  that  night.  When 
the  morning  came,  and  we  had  advanced  as  much  farther,  six 
Indians  were  sent  back  to  the  place  of  our  late  abode,  who  col 
lected  a  little  more  plunder,  and  destroyed  some  other  effects 
that  had  been  left  behind ;  but  they  did  not  return  until  the 
day  was  s-o  far  spent,  that  it  was  judged  best  to  continue  where 
we  were  through  the  night.  Early  the  next  morning  we  set 
off  for  Canada,  and  continued  our  march  eight  days  succes- 


30 


158  MRS.  JEMIMA  HOWE'S  CAPTIVITY. 

sively,  until  we  had  reached  the  place  where  the  Indians  had 
left  their  canoes,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Crown  Point.  rfhis 
was  a  long  and  tedious  march ;  but  the  captives,  by  divine 
assistance,  were  enabled  to  endure  it  with  less  trouble  and 
difficulty  than  they  had  reason  to  expect.  From  such  savage 
masters,  in  such  indigent  circumstances,  we  could  not  ration 
ally  hope  for  kinder  treatment  than  we  received.  Some  of  us, 
it  is  true,  had  a  harder  lot  than  others ;  and,  among  the  chil 
dren,  I  thought  my  son  Squire  had  the  hardest  of  any.  He 
was  then  only  four  years  old,  and  when  we  stopped  to  rest  our 
Aveary  limbs,  and  he  sat  down  on  his  master's  pack,  the  savage 
monster  would  often  knock  him  off;  and  sometimes,  too,  with 
the  handle  of  his  hatchet.  Several  ugly  marks,  indented  in 
his  head  by  the  cruel  Indians,  at  that  tender  age,  are  still 
plainly  to  be  seen. 

At  length  we  arrived  at  Crown  Point,  and  took  up  our 
quarters  there  for  the  space  of  near  a  week.  In  the  mean 
time  some  of  the  Indians  went  to  Montreal,  and  took  several 
of  the  weary  captives  along  with  them,  with  a  view  of  selling 
them  to  the  French.  They  did  not  succeed,  however,  in  find 
ing  a  market  for  any  of  them.  They  gave  my  youngest 
daughter,  Submit  Phipps,  to  the  governor,  de  Vaudreuil,  had 
a  drunken  frolic,  and  returned  again  to  Crown  Point  with 
the  rest  of  their  prisoners.  From  hence  we  set  off  for  St. 
Johns,  in  four  or  five  canoes,  just  as  night  was  coming  on, 
and  were  soon  surrounded  with  darkness.  A  heavy  storm 
hung  over  us.  The  sound  of  the  rolling  thunder  was  very 
terrible  upon  the  waters,  which,  at  every  flash  of  expansive 
lightning,  seemed  to  be  all  in  a  blaze.  Yet  to  this  we  were 
indebted  for  all  the  light  we  enjoyed.  No  object  could  we 
discern  any  longer  than  the  flashes  lasted.  In  this  posture 
we  sailed  in  our  open,  tottering  canoes  almost  the  whole  of 
that  dreary  night.  The  morning,  indeed,  had  not  yet  begun 
to  dawn,  when  we  all  went  ashore  ;  and  having  collected  a 
heap  of  sand  and  gravel  for  a  pillow,  I  laid  myself  down,  with 
my  tender  infant  by  my  side,  not  knowing  where  any  of  my 
other  children  were,  or  what  a  miserable  condition  they  might 
be  in.  The  next  day,  however,  under  the  wing  of  that  ever- 
present  and  all-powerful  Providence,  which  had  preserved  us 
through  the  darkness  and  imminent  dangers  of  the  preceding 
eight,  we  all  arrived  in  safety  at  St.  Johns. 

Our  next  movement  was  to  St.  Francois,  the  metropolis,  if 
I  may  so  call  it,  to  which  the  Indians,  who  led  us  captive, 
belonged.  Soon  after  our  arrival  at  their  wretched  capital,  a 
council,  consisting  of  the  chief  sachem  and  some  principal 
warriors  of  the  St.  Francois  tribe,  was  convened ;  and  after 


MRS.  JEMIMA  HOWE'S  CAPTIVlflt.  159 

the  ceremonies  usual  on  such  occasions  were  over,  I  was  con 
ducted  and  delivered  to  an  old  squaw,  whom  the  Indians  told 
me  I  must  call' my  mother;  my  infant  still  continuing  to  be 
the  property  of  its  original  Indian  owners.  I  was  neverthe 
less  permitted  to  keep  it  with  me  a  while  longer,  for  the  sake 
of  saving  them  the  trouble  of  looking  after  it,  and  of  main 
taining  it  with  my  milk.  When  the  weather  began  to  grow 
cold,  shuddering  at  the  prospect  of  approaching  winter,  I 
acquainted  my  new  mother  that  I  did  not  think  it  would  be 
possible  for  me  to  endure  it,  if  I  must  spend  it  with  her,  and 
fare  as  the  Indians  did.  Listening  to  my  repeated  and  earnest 
solicitations,  that  I  might  be  disposed  of  among  some  of  th« 
French  inhabitants  of  Canada,  she,  at  length,  set  off  with  me 
and  my  infant,  attended  by  some  male  Indians,  upon  a  journey 
to  Montreal,  in  hopes  of  rinding  a  market  for  me  there.  But 
the  attempt  proved  unsuccessful,  and  the  journey  tedious 
indeed.  Our  provisions  were  so  scanty,  as  well  as  insipid  and 
unsavory,  the  weather  was  so  cold,  and  the  travelling  so  very 
bad,  that  it  often  seemed  as  if  I  must  have  perished  on  the 
way.  The  lips  of  my  poor  child  were  sometimes  so  benumbed, 
that  when  I  put  it  to  my  breast  it  could  not,  till  it  grew  warm, 
imbibe  the  nourishment  requisite  for  its  support.  While 
we  were  at  Montreal,  we  went  into  the  house  of  a  certain 
French  gentleman,  whose  lady,  being  sent  for,  and  coming  , 
into  the  room  where  I  was,  to  examine  me,  seeing  I  had  an 
infant,  exclaimed  suddenly  in  this  manner,  "  Damn  it,  I  will 
not  buy  a  woman  that  has  a  child  to  look  after."  There  was 
a  swill-pail  standing  near  me,  in  which  I  observed  some  crusts 
and  crumbs  of  bread  swimming  on  the  surface  of  the  greasy 
liquor  it  contained  ;  sorely  pinched  with  hunger,  I  skimmed 
them  off  with  my  hands  and  eat  them;  and  this  was  all  the 
refreshment  which  the  house  afforded  me.  Somewhere,  in 
the  course  of  this  visit  to  Montreal,  my  Indian  mother  was  so 
unfortunate  as  to  catch  the  small-pox,  of  which  distemper  she 
died,  soon  after  our  return,  which  was  by  water,  to  St.  Francois. 
And  now  came  on  the  season  when  the  Indians  began  to 
prepare  for  a  winter's  hunt.  I  was  ordered  to  return  my  poor 
child  to  those  of  them  who  still  claimed  it  as  their  property. 
This  was  a  severe  trial.  The  babe  clung  to  my  bosom  with 
all  its  might;  but  I  was  obliged  to  pluck  it  thence,  and  deliver 
it,  shrieking  and  screaming,  enough  to  penetrate  a  heart  of 
stone,  into  the  hands  of  those  unfeeling  wretches,  whose  tender 
mercies  may  be  termed  cruel.  It  was  soon  carried  off  by  a 
hunting  party  of  those  Indians  to  a  place  called  Messiskow,  at 
the  lower  end  of  lake  Champlain,  whither,  in  about  a  month 
after,  it  was  my  fortune  to  follow  them.  I  had  preserved  my 


.60  MRS.  JEMIMA  HOWE'S  CAPTIVITY. 

milk  in  hopes  of  seeing  my  beloved  child  again.  And  here  I 
found  it,  it  is  true,  but  in  a  condition  that  afforded  me  no  greai 
satisfaction,  it  being  greatly  emaciated,  and  almost  starved.  I 
took  it  in  my  arms,  put  its  face  to  mine,  and  it  instantly  bit  me 
with  such  violence  that  it  seemed  as  if  I  must  have  parted  with 
a  piece  of  my  cheek.  I  was  permitted  to  lodge  with  it  that 
and  the  two  following  nights ;  but  every  morning  that  inter 
vened,  the  Indians,  I  suppose  on  purpose  to  torment  me,  sent 
me  away  to  another  wigwam  which  stood  at  a  little  distance, 

V  though  not  so  far  from  the  one  in  which  my  distressed  infant 
was  confined  but  that  I  could  plainly  hear  its  incessant  cries 

,  and  heart-rending  lamentations.  In  this  deplorable  condition 
I  was  obliged  to  take  my  leave  of  it,  on  the  morning  of  the 

f  third  day  after  my  arrival  at  the  place.  We  moved  down  the 
lake  several  miles  the  same  day ;  and  the  night  following  was 
remarkable  on  account  of  the  great  earthquake*  which  terri 
bly  .shook  that  howling  wilderness.  Among  the  islands  here 
abouts  we  spent  the  winter  season,  often  shifting  our  quarters, 
and  roving  about  from  one  place  to  another ;  our  family  con 
sisting  of  three  persons  only,  besides  myself,  viz.  my  late 
mother's  daughter,  whom  therefore  I  called  my  sister,  her 
sanhop,  and  a  pappoose.  They  once  left  me  alone  two  dismal 
nights ;  and  when  they  returned  to  me  again,  perceiving  them 
4  smile  at  each  other,  I  asked,  What  is  the  matter?  They  re 
plied  that  two  of  my  children  were  no  more ;  one  of  which, 
they  said,  died  a  natural  death,  and  the  other  was  knocked  on 
the  head.  I  did  not  utter  many  words,  but  my  heart  was 
sorely  pained  within  me,  and  my  mind  exceedingly  troubled 
with  strange  and  awful  ideas.  I  often  imagined,  for  instance, 
.  that  I  plainly  saw  the  naked  carcasses  of  my  deceased  children 
hanging  upon  the  limbs  of  the  trees,  as  the  Indians  are  wont  to 
hang  the  raw  hides  of  those  beasts  which  they  take  in  hunting. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  it  was  so  ordered  by  kind 
j.  Providence,  that  I  should  be  relieved  in  a  good  measure  from 

•  those  horrid  imaginations  ;  for  as  I  was  walking  one  day  upon 
the  ice,  observing  a  smoke  at  some  distance  upon  the  land,  it 

.       must  proceed,  thought  I,  from  the  fire  of  some  Indian  hut,  and 

i       who  knows  but  some  one  of  my  poor  children  may  be  there? 

My  curiosity,  thus  excited,  led  me  to  the  place,  and  there  I 

found  my  son  Caleb,  a  little  boy  between  two  and  three  years 

f      old,  whom  I  had  lately  buried,  in  sentiment  at  least,  or  rather 

*  imagined  to  have  been  deprived  of  life,  and  perhaps  also  denied 
;      a  decent  grave.      I  found    him  likewise  in   tolerable  health 

and   circumstances,   under  the    protection  of  a    fond    Indian 
|      mother;  and  moreover  had  the  happiness  of  lodging  with  him 

*  November  18,  1755. 


I 


(See  page  161.) 


MRS.  JEMIMA  HOWE'S    CAPTIVITY.  161 

in  my  arms  one  joyful  night.  Again  we  shifted  our  quarters, 
and  when  we  had  travelled  eight  or  ten  miles  upon  the  snow 
and  ice,  came  to  a  place  where  the  Indians  manufactured  sugar, 
which  they  extracted  from  the  maple  trees.  Here  an  Indian 
came  to  visit  us,  whom  I  knew,  and  could  speak  English.  He 
asked  me  why  I  did  not  go  to  see  my  son  Squire.  I  replied 
that  I  had  lately  been  informed  that  he  was  dead.  He  assured 
me  that  he  was  yet  alive,  and  but  two  or  three  miles  off,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  lake.  At  my  request  he  gave  me 
the  best  directions  he  could  to  the  place  of  his  abode.  I 
resolved  to  embrace  the  first  opportunity  that  offered  of  endea 
voring  to  search  it  out.  While  I  was  busy  in  contemplating 
this  affair,  the  Indians  obtained  a  little  bread,  of  which  they 
gave  me  a  small  share.  I  did  not  taste  a  morsel  of  it  myself, 
but  saved  it  all  for  my  poor  child,  if  I  should  be  so  lucky  as  to 
find  him.  At  length,  having  obtained  of  my  keepers  leave  to 
be  absent  for  one  day,  I  set  off  early  in  the  morning,  and  steer 
ing,  as  well  as  I  could,  according  to  the  directions  which  the 
frendly  Indian  had  given  me,  I  quickly  found  the  place  which 
he  had  so  accurately  marked  out.  I  beheld,  as  I  drew  nigh, 
my  little  son  without  the  camp  ;  but  he  looked,  thought  I,  like  a 
starved  and  mangy  puppy,  that  had  been  wallowing  in  the  ashes. 
I  took  him  in  my  arms,  and  he  spoke  to  me  these  words,  in 
the  Indian  tongue  :  "  Mother,  are  you  come  ?"  I  took  him  into 
the  wigwam  with  me,  and  observing  a  number  of  Indian  chil 
dren  in  it,  I  distributed  all  the  bread  which  I  had  reserved  for 
my  own  child,  among  them  all,  otherwise  I  should  have  given 
great  offence.  My  little  boy  appeared  to  be  very  fond  of  his 
new  mother,  kept  as  near  me  as  possible  while  I  staid,  and 
when  I  told  him  I  must  go,  he  fell  as  though  he  had  been 
knocked  down  with  a  club.  But  having  recommended  him  to 
the  care  of  Him  that  made  him,  when  the  day  was  far  spent, 
and  the  time  would  permit  me  to  stay  no  longer,  I  departed, 
you  may  well  suppose  with  a  heavy  load  at  my  heart.  The 
tidings  I  had  received  of  the  death  of  my  youngest  child  had, 
a  little  before,  been  confirmed  to  me  beyond  a  doubt,  but  I 
could  not  riourn  so  heartily  for  the  deceased  as  for  the  living 
child. 

When  the  winter  broke  up,  we  removed  to  St.  Johns  ;  and 
through  the  ensuing  summer,  our  principal  residence  was  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  fort  at  that  place.  In  the  mean 
time,  however,  my  sister's  husband,  having  been  out  with  a 
scouting  party  to  some  of  the  English  settlements,  had  a 
drunken  frolic  at  the  fort,  when  he  returned.  His  wife,  who 
never  got  drunk,  but  had  often  experienced  the  ill  effects  of  her 
husbar.d's  intemperance,  fearing  what  the  consequence  might 


162  MRS.  JEMIMA  HOWE'S  CAPTIVITY. 

prove  if  he  should  come  home  in  a  morose  and  turhulent  hu 
mor,  to  avoid  his  insolence,  proposed  that  we  should  both  retire, 
and  keep  out  of  the  reach  of  it  until  the  storm  abated.  We  ab 
sconded  accordingly,  but  so  it  happened  that  I  returned  and  ven 
tured  into  his  presence,  before  his  wife  had  presumed  to  come 
nigh  him.  I  found  him  in  his  wigwam,  and  in  a  surly  mood ; 
and  not  being  able  to  revenge  upon  his  wife,  because  she  was 
not  at  home,  he  laid  hold  of  me,  and  hurried  me  to  the  fort, 
and,  for  a  trifling  consideration,  sold  me  to  a  French  gentleman 
whose  name  was  Saccapee.  'Tis  an  ill  wind  certainly  that 
blows  nobody  any  good.  I  had  been  with  the  Indians  a  year 
lacking  fourteen  days ;  and,  if  not  for  my  sister,  yet  for  me, 
'twas  a  lucky  circumstance  indeed,  which  thus  at  last,  in  an 
unexpected  moment,  snatched  me  out  of  their  cruel  hands,  and 
placed  me  beyond  the  reach  of  their  insolent  power. 

After  my  Indian  master  had  disposed  of  me  in  the  manner 
related  above,  and  the  moment  of  sober  reflection  had  arrived, 
perceiving  that  the  man  who  bought  me  had  taken  the  advantage 
of  him  in  an  unguarded  hour,  his  resentments  began  to  kindle, 
and  his  indignation  rose  so  high,  that  he  threatened  to  kill  me 
if  he  should  meet  me  alone,  or  if  he  could  not  revenge  himself 
thus  that  he  would  set  fire  to  the  fort.  I  was  therefore  secreted 
in  an  upper  chamber,  and  the  fort  carefully  guarded,  until  his 
wrath  had  time  to  cool.  My  service  in  the  family  to  which  I 
was  now  advanced,  was  perfect  freedom  in  comparison  of  what 
it  had  been  among  the  barbarous  Indians.  My  new  master 
and  mistress  were  both  as  kind  and  generous  towards  me  as  I 
could  anyways  expect.  I  seldom  asked  a  favor  of  either  of 
them  but  it  was  readily  granted;  in  consequence  of  which  I 
had  it  in  my  power,  in  many  instances,  to  administer  aid  and 
refreshment  to  the  poor  prisoners  of  my  own  nation,  who  were 
brought  into  St.  Johns  during  my  abode  in  the  family  of  the 
above-mentioned  benevolent  and  hospitable  Saccapee.  Yet 
even  in  this  family  such  trials  awaited  me  as  I  had  little  reason 
to  expect,  but  stood  in  need  of  a  large  stock  of  prudence,  to 
enable  me  to  encounter  them.  Must  Iteil  you  then,  that  even 
the  good  old  man  himself,  who  considered  me  as  his  property, 
and  likewise  a  warm  and  resolute  son  of  his,  at  that  same  time, 
and  under  the  same  roof,  became  both  excessively  fond  of  my 
company ;  so  that  between  these  two  rivals,  the  father  and  the 
son,  I  found  myself  in  a  very  critical  situation  indeed,  and  was 
greatly  embarrassed  and  perplexed,  hardly  knowing  many 
times  how  to  behave  in  such  a  manner  as  at  once  to  secure 
my  own  virtue,  and  the  good  esteem  of  the  family  in  which  I 
resided,  and  upon  which  I  was  wholly  dependent  for  my  daily 
support.  At  length,  however,  through  the  tender  compassion 

i 
f 


MRS.  JEMIMA  HOWE'S  CAPTIVITY.  163 

of  a  certain  English  gentleman,^  the  Governor  de  Vaudreuil 
being  made  acquainted  with  the  condition  I  had  fallen  into, 
immediately  ordered  the  young  and  amorous  Saccapee,  then 
an  officer  in  the  French  army,  from  the  field  of  Venus  to  the 
field  of  Mars,  and  at  the  same  time  also  wrote  a  letter  to  his 
father,  enjoining  it  upon  him  by  no  means  to  suffer  me  to  be 
abused,  but  to  make  my  situation  and  service  in  his  family  as 
easy  and  delightful  as  possible.  I  was  moreover  under  un 
speakable  obligations  to  the  governor  upon  another  account. 
I  had  received  intelligence  from  my  daughter  Mary,  the  pur 
port  of  which  was,  that  there  was  a  prospect  of  her  being 
shortly  married  to  a  young  Indian  of  the  tribe  of  St.  Francois, 
with  which  tribe  she  had  continued  from  the  beginning  of  her 
captivity.  These  were  heavy  tidings,  and  added  greatly  to 
the  poignancy  of  my  other  afflictions.  However,  not  long 
after  I  had  heard  this  melancholy  news,  an  opportunity  pre 
sented  of  acquainting  that  humane  and  generous  gentleman, 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  my  illustrious  benefactor,  with 
this  affair  also,  who,  in  compassion  for  my  sufferings,  and  to 
mitigate  my  sorrows,  issued  his  orders  in  good  time,  and  had 
my  daughter  taken  away  from  the  Indians,  and  conveyed  to 
the  same  nunnery  where  her  sister  was  then  lodged,  with  his 
express  injunction  that  they  should  both  of  them  together  be 
well  looked  after,  and  carefully  educated,  as  his  adopted  chil 
dren.  In  this  school  of  superstition  and  bigotry  they  contin 
ued  while  the  war  in  those  days  between  France  and  Great 
Britain  lasted.  At  the  conclusion  of  which  war,  the  governor 
went  home  to  France,  took  my  oldest  daughter  along  with  him, 
and  married  her  then  to  a  French  gentleman,  whose  name  is 
Cron  Lewis.  He  was  at  Boston  with  the  fleet  under  Count 
de  Estaing,  [1778]  and  one  of  his  clerks.  My  other  daugh 
ter  still  continuing  in  the  nunnery,  a  considerable  time  had 
elapsed  after  my  return  from  captivity,  when  I  made  a  journey 
to  Canada,  resolving  to  use  my  best  endeavors  not  to  return 
without  her.  I  arrived  just  in  time  to  prevent  her  being 
sent  to  France.  She  was  to  have  gone  in  the  next  vessel  that 
sailed  for  that  place.  And  I  found  it  extremely  difficult  to 
prevail  with  her  to  quit  the  nunnery  and  go  home  with  me  ; 
yea,  she  absolutely  refused,  and  all  the  persuasions  and  argu 
ments  I  could  use  with  her  were  to  no  effect,  until  after  I  had 
been  to  the  governor,  and  obtained  a  letter  from  him  to  the 
superintendent  of  the  nuns,  in  which  he  threatened,  if  my 
daughter  should  not  be  immediately  delivered  into  my  hands, 
or  could  not  be  prevailed  with  to  submit  to  my  paternal  author- 

f  I 

*  Col.  Peter  Schuyler,  then  a  prisoner. 


164  MRS.  JEMIMA  HOWE'S  CAPTIVITY. 

ity,  that  he  would  send  a  band  of  soldiers  to  assist  me  in 
bringing  her  away.  Upon  hearing  this  she  made  no  farther 
resisiance.  But  so  extremely  bigoted  was  she  to  the  customs 
and  religion  of  the  place,  that,  after  all,  she  left  it  with  the 
greatest  reluctance,  and  the  most  bitter  lamentations,  which 
she  continued  as  we  passed  the  streets,  and  wholly  refused  to 
be  comforted.  My  good  friend,  Major  Small,  whom  we  met 
with  on  the  way,  tried  all  he  could  to  console  her  ;  and  was  so 
very  kind  and  obliging  as  to  bear  us  company,  and  carry  my 
daughter  behind  him  on  horseback. 

But  I  have  run  on  a  little  before  my  story,  for  I  have  not 
yet  informed  you  of  the  means  and  manner  of  my  own  re 
demption,  to  the  accomplishing  of  which,  the  recovery  of  my 
daughter  just  mentioned,  and  the  ransoming  of  some  of  my 
other  children,  several  gentlemen  of  note  contributed  not  a 
little  ;  to  whose  goodness  therefore  I  am  greatly  indebted,  and 
sincerely  hope  I  shall  never  be  so  ungrateful  as  to  forget.  Col. 
Schuyler  in  particular  was  so  very  kind  and  generous  as  to 
advance  2700  livres  to  procure  a  ransom  for  myself  and  three 
of  my  children.  He  accompanied  and  conducted  us  from 
Montreal  to  Albany,  and  entertained  us  in  the  most  friendly 
and  hospitable  manner  a  considerable  time,  at  his  own  house, 
and  I  believe  entirely  at  his  own  expense. 

J  have  spun  out  the  above  narrative  to  a  much  greater  length 
than  I  at  first  intended,  and  shall  conclude  it  with  referring 
you,  for  a  more  ample  and  brilliant  account  of  the  captive 
heroine  who  is  the  subject  of  it,  to  Col.  Humphrey's  History 
of  the  Life  of  Gen.  Israel  Putnam,  together  with  some  remarks 
upon  a  few  clauses  in  it.  I  never  indeed  had  the  pleasure  of 
perusing  the  whole  of  said  history,  but  remember  to  have  seen 
some  time  ago  an  extract  from  it  in  one  of  the  Boston  news 
papers,  in  which  the  colonel  has  extolled  the  beauty  and  good 
sense,  and  rare  accomplishments  of  Mrs.  Howe,  the  person 
whom  he  endeavors  to  paint  in  the  most  lively  and  engaging 
colors,  perhaps  a  little  too  highly,  and  in  a  style  that  may  ap 
pear  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  her  to  this  day  romantic 
and  extravagant.  And  the  colonel  must  needs  have  been  mis 
informed  with  respect  to  some  particulars  that  he  has  men 
tioned  in  her  history.  Indeed,  when  I  read  the  extract  from 
his  history  to  Mrs.  Tute,  (which  name  she  has  derived  from  a 
third  husband,  whose  widow  she  now  remains,)  she  seemed  to 
be  well  pleased,  and  said  at  first  it  was  all  true,  but  soon  after 
contradicted  the  circumstance  of  her  lover's  being  so  bereft  of 
his  senses,  when  he  saw  her  moving  of!'  in  a  boat  at  some  dis 
tance  from  the  shore,  as  to  phinge  into  the  water  after  her,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  seen  no  more.  It  is  true,  she 


CAPTIVITY   OF  FRANCES  NOBLE.  165 

said,  that  as  she  was  returning  from  Montreal  to  Albany,  she 
met  with  young  Saccapee  on  the  way ;  that  she  was  in  a 
boat  with  Colonel  Schuyler ;  that  the  French  officer  carne  on 
board  the  boat,  made  her  some  handsome  presents,  took  his 
final  leave  of  her,  and  departed,  to  outward  appearance  in  tole 
rable  good  humor. 

She  moreover  says,  that  when  she  went  to  Canada  for  her 
daughter,  she  met  with  him  again,  that  he  showed  her  a  lock 
of  her  hair,  and  her  name  likewise,  printed  with  vermillion  on 
his  arm.  As  to  her  being  chosen  agent  to  go  to  Europe,  in 
behalf  of  the  people  of  Hinsdale,  when  Colonel  Howard  ob 
tained  from  the  government  of  New  York  a  patent  of  their 
lands  on  the  west  side  of  Connecticut  river,  it  was  never  once 
thought  of  by  Hinsdale  people  until  the  above-mentioned  ex 
tract  arrived  among  them,  in  which  the  author  has  inserted  it 
as  a  matter  of  undoubted  fact. 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  OF  FRANCES  NOBLE,  WHO  WAS,  AMONG 
OTHERS,  TAKEN  BY  THE  INDIANS  FROM  SWAN  ISLAND,  IN 
MAINE,  ABOUT  THE  YEAR  1755;  COMPILED  BY  JOHN  KELLY, 
ESQ.  OF  CONCORD,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  FROM  THE  MINUTES 
AND  MEMORANDA  OF  PHINEHAS  MERRILL..  ESQ.  OF  STRAT- 
HAM,  IN  THE  SAME  STATE ;  AND  BY  THE  FORMER  GEN 
TLEMAN  COMMUNICATED  FOR  PUBLICATION  TO  THE  EDI- 
TORS  OF  THE  HISTORICAL  COLLECTIONS  OF  NEW  HAMP 
SHIRE. 

JAMES  WHIDDEN,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Shute, 
was  a  captain  in  the  army  at  the  taking  of  Cape  Breton  in 
1745.  He  owned  a  tract  of  land  on  Swan  Island,  in  the  river 
Kennebec,  where  he  lived  with  his  family.  One  of  his  daugh 
ters  married  Lazarus  Noble,  of  Portsmouth,  who  lived  on  the 
island  with  her  father.  The  Indians  had  been  accustomed  to 
visit  Capt.  Whidden  for  the  purposes  of  trade.  There  was  a 
garrison  on  the  island  to  secure  the  inhabitants  from  the  attacks 
of  the  enemy  in  time  of  war. 

One  morning,  a  little  after  daybreak,  two  boys  went  out  of 
the  garrison  and  left  the  gate  open.  The  Indians  were  on  the 
watch,  and  availing  themselves  of  the  opportunity,  about  ninety 
entered  the  garrison.  The  inhabitants  immediately  discovered 


CAPTIVITY  OF  FRANCES  NOBLE. 

that  the  enemy  was  upon  them ;  but  there  was  no  escape. 
Captain  Whidden  and  his  wife  retreated  to  the  cellar,  and  con 
cealed  themselves.  Noble  and  his  hired  man  met  the  Indians 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  fired  upon  them,  wounding  one 
of  them  in  the  arm.  The  Indians  did  not  return  the  fire,  bat 
took  Noble,  his  wife,  and  seven  children,  with  Timothy  Whid 
den  and  Mary  Holmes,  prisoners.  The  hired  man  and  the 
two  boys  escaped.  The  captives  were  carried  to  the  water's 
side  and  bound ;  excepting  such  as  could  not  run  away.  The 
Indians  then  returned  to  the  garrison,  burnt  the  barn  and  plun 
dered  the  house,  cut  open  the  feather  beds,  strewed  the  feath 
ers  in  the  field,  and  carried  off  all  the  silver  and  gold  they 
could  find,  and  as  much  of  the  provisions  as  they  chose.  It 
was  supposed  they  omitted  to  burn  the  house  from  the  suspi 
cion  that  the  captain  and  his  wife,  from  whom  they  had,  in 
times  of  peace,  received  many  favors,  were  concealed  in  it. 
Capt.  Whidden,  after  the  destruction  of  his  property  on  the 
island,  returned  to  Greenland,  in  this  state,  which  is  supposed 
to  have  been  his  native  place,  and  there  died. 

The  Indians  also  took  in  a  wood  on  the  island  an  old  man 
by  the  name  of  Pomeroy,  who  was  employed  in  making  shin 
gles.  Having  collected  their  captives  and  plunder,  they  imme 
diately  left  the  island,  and  commenced  their  return  to  Canada  to 
dispose  of  their  prey.  Pomeroy  was  old  and  feeble,  and  unable 
to  endure  the  fatigue  of  the  march,  without  more  assistance  than 
the  savages  thought  fit  to  render  him,  and  they  killed  him  on 
the  journey.  They  were  more  attentive  to  the  children,  as  for 
them  they  undoubtedly  expected  a  higher  price  or  a  greater 
ransom.  Abigail,  one  of  the  children,  died  among  the  Indians. 
The  other  captives  arrived  safe  in  Canada,  and  were  variously 
disposed  of.  Mr.  Noble  was  sold  to  a  baker  h  Quebec,  and 
his  wife  to  a  lady  of  the  same  place  as  a  chambermaid.  They 
were  allowed  to  visit  each  other  and  to  sleep  together.  Four 
of  the  children  were  also  sold  in  Quebec,  as  were  Timothy 
Whidden  and  Mary  Holmes.  The  captives  in  that  city  were 
exchanged  within  a  year,  and  returned  to  their  homes.  Mr. 
Whidden  and  Miss  Holmes  were  afterwards  united  in  mar 
riage. 

FANNY  NOBLE,  the  principal  subject  of  this  memoir,  at  the 
time  of  her  captivity,  was  about  thirteen  months  old.  She 
was  carried  by  a  party  of  Indians  to  Montreal.  In  their  at 
tempts  to  dispose  of  her,  they  took  her  one  day  to  the  house 
of  Monsieur  Louis  St.  Auge  Charlee,  an  eminent  merchant  of 
that  place,  who  was  at  that  time  on  a  journey  to  Quebec.  His 
lady  was  called  into  the  kitchen  by  one  of  her  maids  to  see  a 


CAPTIVITY  OF  FRANCES  NOBLE.  167 

poor  infant  crawling  on  the  tile  floor  in  dirt  and  rags,  picking 
apple  peelings  out  of  the  cracks.  She  came  in,  and  on  kindly 
noticing  the  child,  Fanny  immediately  caught  hold  of  the 
lady's  gown,  wrapped  it  over  her  head,  and  burst  into  tears. 
The  lady  could  not  easily  resist  this  appeal  to  her  compassion. 
She  took  up  the  child,  who  clung  about  her  neck  and  repeat 
edly  embraced  her.  The  Indians  offered  to  sell  her  their  little 
captive,  but  she  declined  buying,  not  choosing  probably  in  the 
absence  of  her  husband  to  venture  on  such  a  purchase.  The 
Indians  left  the  house,  and  slept  that  night  on  the  pavements 
before  the  door.  Fanny,  who  had  again  heard  the  voice  of 
kindness,  to  which  she  had  not  been  accustomed  from  her  sav 
age  masters,  could  not  be  quiet,  but  disturbed  the  slumbers  and 
touched  the  heart  of  the  French  lady  by  her  incessant  cries. 
This  lady  had  then  lately  lost  a  child  by  death,  and  was  per 
haps  more  quick  to  feel  for  the  sufferings  of  children,  and 
more  disposed  to  love  them,  than  she  would  otherwise  have 
been.  Early  the  next  morning  the  Indians  were  called  into 
the  house ;  Fanny  was  purchased,  put  into  a  tub  of  water,  and 
having  been  thoroughly  washed,  was  dressed  in  the  clothes  of 
the  deceased  child,  and  put  to  bed.  She  awoke  smiling,  and 
seemed  desirous  of  repaying  her  mistress'  kindness  by  her  in 
fantile  prattle  and  fond  caresses.  Fanny  could  never  learn 
for  what  price  she  was  bought  of  the  Indians,  as  her  French 
mother  declined  answering  her  questions  upon  that  subject, 
telling  her  to  be  a  good  girl,  and  be  thankful  that  she  was  not 
still  in  their  power. 

Mons.  and  Mad.  St.  Auge  took  a  lively  interest  in  their  little 
captive,  and  treated  her  with  much  tenderness  and  affection. 
She  felt  for  them  a  filial  attachment.  When  her  parents  were 
exchanged,  her  mother,  on  her  return  home,  called  upon  Fanny, 
and  took  the  child  in  her  arms,  but  no  instinct  taught  her  to 
rejoice  in  the  maternal  embrace,  and  she  fled  for  protection  to 
her  French  mamma.  Mrs.  Noble  received  many  presents 
from  the  French  lady,  and  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  that  her 
little  daughter  was  left  in  affectionate  hands. 

Fanny  was  taught  to  call  and  consider  Mons.  and  Mad.  St. 
Auge  as  her  parents.  They  had  her  baptized  by  the  name  of 
Eleanor,  and  educated  her  in  the  Roman  Catholic  religion. 
She  learned  her  Pater  Nosters  and  Ave  Marias,  went  to  mass, 
crossed  herself  with  holy  water,  and  told  her  beads  with  great 
devotion. 

When  four  or  five  years  old,  she  was  enticed  away  from  her 
French  parents  by  Wheelwright,  who  had  been  employed  by 
the  government  of  Massachusetts  to  seek  for  captives  in  Can 
ada.  He  carried  her  to  the  Three  Rivers,  where  he  had  sev- 


168  CAPTIVITY  OF  FRANCES  NOBLE. 

eral  other  captives,  and  left  her,  as  he  pretended,  with  a  rela 
tion  of  her  French  father's  for  a  few  days,  when  she  expected 
to  return  10  Montreal.  But  she  had  not  been  to  the  Three 
Rivers  more  than  twenty-four  hours,  when  the  old  squaw 
who  had  sold  her  to  Mad.  St.  Auge  came  along  in  a  sleigh, 
accompanied  by  a  young  sanop,  seized  upon  Fanny,  and  car 
ried  her  to  St.  Francois,  where  they  kept  her  about  a  fortnight. 
She  had  now  attained  an  age  when  she  would  be  sensible  of 
her  misfortunes,  and  bitterly  lamented  her  separation  from  her 
French  parents.  The  Indians  endeavored  to  pacify  and  please 
her  by  drawing  on  her  coat  or  frock  the  figures  of  deers,  wolves, 
bears,  fishes,  &c. ;  and  once,  probably  to  make  her  look  as 
handsomely  as  themselves,  they  painted  her  cheeks  in  the 
Indian  fashion,  which  very  much  distressed  her,  and  the  old 
squaw  made  them  wipe  off  the  paint.  At  one  time  she  got 
away  from  the  savages,  and  sought  refuge  in  the  best-look 
ing  house  in  the  village,  which  belonged  to  a  French  priest, 
who  kissed  her,  asked  her  many  questions,  and  treated  her 
kindly,  but  gave  her  up  to  the  claim  of  her  Indian  masters. 
While  at  St.  Francois,  her  brother,  Joseph  Noble,  who  had 
not  been  sold  to  the  French,  but  still  lived  with  the  Indians, 
came  to  see  her,  but  she  had  a  great  aversion  to  him.  He  was 
in  his  Indian  dress,  and  she  would  not  believe  him  to  be  a  rela 
tion,  or  speak  to  him  if  she  could  avoid  it.  She  was  at  last 
turned  back  by  the  Indians  to  Montreal,  and  to  her  great  satis 
faction  was  delivered  to  her  French  father,  who  rewarded  the 
Indians  for  returning  her.  It  was  doubtless  the  expectation  of 
much  reward  which  induced  the  old  squaw  to  seize  her  at  the 
Three  Rivers,  as  the  Indians  not  unfrequently  stole  back  cap 
tives,  in  order  to  extort  presents  for  their  return  from  the 
French  gentlemen  to  whom  the  same  captives  had  before  been 
sold.  Before  this  time  she  had  been  hastily  carried  from  Mont 
real,  hurried  over  mountains  and  across  waters,  and  concealed 
among  flags,  while  those  who  accompanied  her  were  evidently 
pursued,  and  in  great  apprehension  of  being  overtaken  ;  but 
the  occasion  of  this  flight  or  its  incidents  she  was  too  young  to 
understand  or  distinctly  to  remember,  and  she  was  unable  after 
wards  to  satisfy  herself  whether  her  French  father  conveyed 
her  away  to  keep  her  out  of  the  reach  of  her  natural  friends, 
or  whether  she  was  taken  by  those  friends,  and  afterwards  re 
taken  as  at  the  Three  Rivers  and  returned  to  Montreal.  The 
French  parents  cautiously  avoided  informing  her  upon  this 
subject,  or  upon  any  other  which  should  remind  her  of  her  cap 
tivity,  her  country,  her  parents  or  her  friends,  lest  she  should 
become  discontented  with  her  situation,  and  desirous  of  leav 
ing  those  who  had  adopted  her.  They  kept  her  secreted  from 


CAPTIVITY  OF  FRANCES  NOBLE.  169 

her  natural  friends,  who  were  in  search  of  her,  and  evaded 
every  question  which  might  lead  to  her  discovery.  One  day, 
when  Mons.  St.  Auge  and  most  of  his  family  were  at  mass, 
she  was  sent  with  another  captive  to  the  third  story  of  the 
house,  and  the  domestics  were  required  strictly  to  watch  them, 
as  it  was  known  that  some  of  her  relations  were  then  in  the 
place  endeavoring  to  find  her.  Of  this  circumstance  she  was 
ignorant,  but  she  was  displeased  with  her  confinement,  and  - 
with  her  little  companion  found  means  to  escape  from  their 
room  and  went  below.  While  raising  a  cup  of  water  to  her 
mouth,  she  saw  a  man  looking  at  her  through  the  window,  and 
stretching  out  his  arm  towards  her,  at  the  same  time  speaking 
a  language  which  she  could  not  understand.  She  was  very 
much  alarmed,  threw  down  her  water,  and  ran  with  all  possi 
ble  speed  to  her  room.  Little  did  she  suppose  that  it  was  her 
own  father,  from  whom  she  was  flying  in  such  fear  and  horror. 
Re  had  returned  to  Canada  to  seek  those  of  his  children  who 
remained  there.  He  could  hear  nothing  of  his  Fanny ;  but 
watching  the  house,  he  perceived  her,  as  was  just  stated,  and 
joyfully  stretching  his  arms  towards  her,  exclaimed,  "  There's 
my  daughter!  O!  that 's  my  daughter !"  But  she  retreated, 
and  he  could  not  gain  admittance,  for  the  house  was  guarded 
and  no  stranger  permitted  to  enter.  How  long  he  continued 
hovering  about  her  is  jiow  unknown,  but  he  left  Canada  with 
out  embracing  her  or  seeing  her  again. 

Her  French  parents  put  her  to  a  boarding  school  attached  to 
a  nunnery  in  Montreal,  where  she  remained  several  years,  and 
was  taught  all  branches  of  needle- \vork,  with  geography, 
music,  painting,  &c.  In  the  same  school  were  two  Misses 
Johnsons,  who  were  captured  at  Charlestown,  (No.  4)  in  1754, 
and  two  Misses  Phipps,  the  daughters  of  Mrs.  Howe,  who 
were  taken  at  Hinsdale  in  1755.  Fanny  was  in  school  when 
Mrs.  Howe  came  for  her  daughters,  and  long  remembered  the 
#rief  and  lamentations  of  the  young  captives  when  obliged 
to  leave  their  school  and  mates  to  return  to  a  strange,  though 
their  native  country,  and  to  relatives  whom  they  had  long  for 
gotten. 

While  at  school  at  Montreal,  her  brother  Joseph  again  vis 
ited  her.  He  still  belonged  to  the  St.  Francois  tribe  of  Indians, 
and  was  dressed  remarkably  fine,  having  forty  or  fifty  broaches 
in  his  shirt,  clasps  on  his  arm,  and  a  great  variety  of  knots  and 
bells  about  his  clothing.  He  brought  his  little  sister  Ellen,  as 
she  was  then  called,  and  who  was  then  not  far  from  seven 
years  old,  a  young  fawn,  a  basket  of  cranberries,  and  a  lump 
of  sap  sugar.  The  little  girl  was  much  pleased  with  the  fawn, 
and  had  no  great  aversion  to  cranberries  and  sugar,  "but  she 
15 


CAPTIVITY  OF  FRANCES  NOBLE. 

was  much  frightened  by  the  appearance  of  Joseph,  and  would 
receive  nothing  from  his  hands  till,  at  the  suggestion  of  her 
friends,  he  had  washed  the  paint  from  his  face  and  made  some 
alteration  in  his  dress,  when  she  ventured  to  accept  his  offer 
ings,  and  immediately  ran  from  his  presence.  The  next  day, 
Joseph  returned  with  the  Indians  to  St.  Francois,  but  some 
time  afterwards  Mons.  St.  Auge  purchased  him  of  the  sava 
ges,  and  dressed  him  in  the  French  style ;  but  he  never  ap 
peared  so  bold  and  majestic,  so  spirited  and  vivacious,  as  when 
arrayed  in  his  Indian  habit  and  associating  with  his  Indian 
friends.  He  however  became  much  attached  to  St.  Auge,  who 
put  him  to  school ;  and  when  his  sister  parted  with  him  upon 
leaving  Canada,  he  gave  her  a  strict  charge  not  to  let  it  be 
known  where  he  was,  lest  he  too  should  be  obliged  to  leave 
his  friends  and  return  to  the  place  of  his  birth. 

When  between  eleven  and  twelve  years  of  age,  Fanny  was 
sent  to  the  school  of  Ursuline  nuns  in  Quebec,  to  complete  her 
education.  Here  the  discipline  was  much  more  strict  and  sol 
emn  than  in  the  school  at  Montreal.  In  both  places  the  teach 
ers  were  called  half  nuns,  who,  not  being  professed,  were  allow 
ed  to  go  in  and  out  at  pleasure  ;  but  at  Quebec  the  pupils  were 
in  a  great  measure  secluded  from  the  world,  being  permitted 
to  walk  only  in  a  small  garden  by  day,  and  confined  by  bolts 
and  bars  in  their  cells  at  night.  This  restraint  was  irksome  to 
Fanny.  She  grew  discontented  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  year 
was  permitted  to  return  to  her  French  parents  at  Montreal,  and 
again  enter  the  school  in  that  city. 

While  Fanny  was  in  the  nunnery,  being  then  in  her  four 
teenth  year,  she  was  one  day  equally  surprised  and  alarmed 
by  the  entrance  of  a  stranger,  who  demanded  her  of  the  nuns 
as  a  redeemed  captive.  Her  father  had  employed  this  man, 
Arnold,  to  seek  out  his  daughter  and  obtain  her  from  the 
French,  who  had  hitherto  succeeded  in  detaining  her.  Arnold 
was  well  calculated  for  this  employment.  He  was  secret,  sub 
tle,  resolute  and  persevering.  He  had  been  some  time  in  the 
city  without  exciting  a  suspicion  of  his  business.  He  had 
ascertained  where  the  captive  was  to  be  found — he  had  pro 
cured  the  necessary  powers  to  secure  her,  and  in  his  approach 
to  the  nunnery  was  accompanied  by  a  sergeant  and  a  file  of 
men.  The  Huns  were  unwilling  to  deliver  up  their  pupil,  and 
required  to  know  by  what  right  he  demanded  her.  Arnold 
convinced  them  that  his  authority  was  derived  from  the  gov 
ernor,  and  they  durst  not  disobey.  They,  however,  prolonged 
the  time  as  much  as  possible,  and  sent  word  to  Mons.  St.  Auge, 
hoping  that  he  would  be  able  in  some  way  or  other  to  detain 
his  adopted  daughter.  Arnold  however  was  not  to  be  delayed 


CAPTIVITY    OF   FRANCES    NOBLE.  171 

or  trifled  with.  He  sternly  demanded  the  captive  by  the  name 
of  Noble  in  the  governor's  name,  and  the  nuns  were  awed 
into  submission.  Fanny,  weeping  arid  trembling,  was  deliv 
ered  up  by  those  who  wept  and  trembled  too.  She  accom 
panied  Arnold  to  the  gate  of  the  nunnery,  but  the  idea  of 
leaving  forever  those  whom  she  loved  and  going  with  a  com 
pany  of  armed  men  she  knew  not  whither,  was  too  overwhelm 
ing,  and  she  sunk  upon  the  ground.  Her  cries  and  lamenta 
tions  drew  the  people  around  her,  and  she  exclaimed  bitterly 
against  the  cruelty  of  forcing  her  away,  declaring  that  she  could 
not  and  would  not  go  any  further  as  a  prisoner  with  those  fright 
ful  soldiers.  At  this  time  an  English  officer  appeared  in  the 
crowd  ;  he  reasoned  with  her,  soothed  her,  and  persuaded  her 
to  walk  with  him,  assuring  her  the  guard  should  be  dismissed 
and  no  injury  befall  her.  As  they  passed  by  the  door  of 
Mons.  St.  Auge,  on  their  way  to  the  inn,  her  grief  and  excla 
mations  were  renewed,  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
she  could  be  persuaded  to  proceed.  But  the  guard  had  merely 
fallen  back,  and  were  too  near  to  prevent  a  rescue1,  had  an  at 
tempt  been  made.  Capt.  M'Clure,  the  English  officer,  promised 
her  that  she  should  be  permitted  to  visit  her  French  parents 
the  next  day.  She  found  them  in  tears,  but  they  could  not 
detain  her.  Mons.  St.  Auge  gave  her  a  handful  of  money, 
and  embraced  her,  blessed  her,  and  rushed  out  of  the  room. 
His  lady  supplied  her  with  clothes,  and  their  parting  was  most 
affectionate  and  affecting.  She  lived  to  a  considerably  ad 
vanced  age,  but  she  could  never  speak  of  this  scene  without 
visible  and  deep  emotion. 

She  was  carried  down  the  river  to  Quebec,  where  she  tar 
ried  a  few  days,  and  then  sailed  with  Captain  Wilson  for  Bos 
ton.  She  arrived  at  that  port  in  July,  one  month  before  she 
was  fourteen  years  of  age.  She  was  joyfully  received  by 
her  friends,  but  her  father  did  not  long  survive  her  return. 
After  his  death  she  resided  in  the  family  of  Capt.  Wilson,  at 
Boston,  until  she  had  acquired  the  English  language,  of  which 
before  she  was  almost  entirely  ignorant.  She  then  went  to 
Newbury,  and  lived  in  the  family  of  a  relative  of  her  father, 
where  she  found  a  home,  and  that  peace  to  which  she  had  long 
been  a  stranger.  Her  education  had  qualified  her  for  the 
instruction  of  youth,  and  she  partially  devoted  herself  to  that 
employment.  She  was  engaged  in  a  school  at  Hampton, 
where  she  formed  an  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Jonathan  Tilton, 
a  gentleman  of  good  property  in  Kensington,  whom  she  mar 
ried  about  the  year  1776.  He  died  inl79S.  In  1801,  she 
married  Mr.  John  Shute,  of  New-Market,  and  lived  in  the  vil 
lage  of  \e\vfields  in  that  town  till  her  death,  in  September, 


172 


CAPTAIN  CARVER'S  NARRATIVE. 


1S19.     She  was  much  respected  and  esteemed  in  life,  and  her 
death  was,  as  her  life  had  been,  that  of  a  Christian. 


CAPTAIN  JONATHAN  CARVER'S 

NARRATIVE  OF  HIS  CAPTURE,  AND  SUBSEQUENT  ESCAPE 
FROM  THE  INDIANS,  AT  THE  BLOODY  MASSACRE  COMMIT 
TED  BY  THEM,  WHEN  FORT  WILLIAM  HENRY  FELL  INTO 
THE  HANDS  OF  THE  FRENCH,  UNDER  GEN.  MONTCALM,  IN 
THE  YEAR  1757.  WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF. 

GEN.  WEBB,  who  commanded  the  English  army  in  North 
America,  which  was  then  encamped  at  fort  Edward,  having 
intelligence  that  the  French  troops  under  Monsieur  Montcalm 
were  making  some  movements  towards  fort  William  Henry,  he 
detached  a  corps  of  about  fifteen  hundred  men,  consisting  of 
English  and  provincials,  to  strengthen  the  garrison.  In  this 
party  I  went  as  a  volunteer  among  the  latter. 

The  apprehensions  of  the  English  general  were  not  without 
foundation ;  for  the  day  after  our  arrival  we  saw  lake  George, 
(formerly  lake  Sacrament)  to  which  it  lies  contiguous,  covered 
•with  an  immense  number  of  boats  ;  and  in  a  few  hours  we 
found  our  lines  attacked  by  the  French  general,  who  had  just 
landed  with  eleven  thousand  regulars  and  Canadians,  and  two 
thousand  Indians.  Colonel  Monro,  a  brave  officer,  commanded 
in  the  fort,  and  had  no  more  than  two  thousand  three  hundred 
men  with  him,  our  detachment  included. 


CAPTAIN   CARVER'S   NARRATIVE.  173 

With  these  he  made  a  gallant  defence,  and  probably  would 
have  been  able  at  last  to  preserve  the  fort,  had  he  been  properly 
supported,  and  permitted  to  continue  his  efforts.  On  every 
summons  to  surrender  sent  by  the  French  general,  who  offered 
the  most  honorable  terms,  his  ans\ver  repeatedly  was,  that  he 
yet  found  himself  in  a  condition  to  repel  the  most  vigorous 
attacks  his  besiegers  were  able  to  make  ;  and  if  he  thought  his 
present  force  insufficient,  he  could  soon  be  supplied  with  a 
greater  number  from  the  adjacent  army. 

But  the  colonel  having  acquainted  General  Webb  with  his 
situation,  and  desired  he  would  send  him  some  fresh  troops, 
the  general  dispatched  a  messenger  to  him  with  a  letter,  where 
in  he  informed  him  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  assist  him, 
and  therefore  gave  him  orders  to  surrender  up  the  fort  on  the 
best  terms  he  could  procure.  This  packet  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  French  general,  who  immediately  sent  a  flag  of  truce, 
desiring  a  conference  with  the  governor. 

They  accordingly  met,  attended  only  by  a  small  guard,  Jit 
the  centre  between  the  lines ;  when  Monsieur  Montcalm  told 
the  colonel,  that  he  was  come  in  person  to  demand  possession 
of  the  fort,  as  it  belonged  to  the  king  his  master.  The  colonel 
replied,  that  he  knew  not  how  that  could  be,  nor  should  he 
surrender  it  up  whilst  it  was  in  his  power  to  defend  it. 

The  French  general  rejoined  at  the  same  time  delivering 
the  packet  into  the  colonel's  hand,  "By  this  authority  do  I 
make  the  requisition."  The  brave  governor  had  no  sooner 
read  the  contents  of  it,  and  was  convinced  that  siu-h  were  the 
orders  of  the  cornmander-in-chief,  and  not  to  he  disobeyecf, 
than  he  hung  his  head  in  silence,  and  reluctantly  entered  into 
a  negotiation. 

In  consideration  of  the  gallant  defence  the  garrison  had  macfe, 
they  were  to  be  permitted  to  march  out  with  all  the  honors  of 
war,  to  be  allowed  covered  wagons  to  transport  their  baggage? 
to  fort  Edward,  and  a  guard  to  protect  them  from  the  fury  of" 
the  savages. 

The  morning  after  the  capitulation  was  signed,  as  soon  as 
day  broke,  the  whole  garrison,  now  consisting  of  about  twa 
thousand  men,  besides  women  and  children,  were  drawn  up 
within  the  lines,  and  on  the  point  of  marching  off*,  when  great 
numbers  of  the  Indians  gathered  about,  and  began  to  plunder. 
We  were  at  first  in  hopes  that  this  was  their  only  view,  ancl 
suffered  them  to  proceed  without  opposition.  Indeed  it  was1 
not  in  our  power  to  make  any,  had  we  been  so  inclined;  for 
though  we  were  permitted  to  carry  off  our  arms,  yet  we  wer£ 
not  allowed  a  single  round  of  ammunition.  In  these  hopes' 
however  we  were  disappointed  ;  for  presently  some  of  therrt 


*74        CAPTAIN  CARVER'S  NARRATIVE. 

began  to  attack  the  sick  and  wounded,  when  such  as  were  not 
able  to  crawl  into  the  ranks,  notwithstanding  they  endeavored 
to  avert  the  fury  of  their  enemies  by  their  shrieks  or  groans, 
were  soon  dispatched. 

Here  we  were  fully  in  expectation  that  the  disturbance  would 
have  concluded  ;  and  our  little  army  began  to  move ;  but  in  a 
short  time  we  saw  the  front  division  driven  back,  and  discov 
ered  that  we  were  entirely  encircled  by  the  savages.  We 
expected  every  moment  that  the  guard,  which  the  French,  by 
the  articles  of  capitulation,  had  agreed  to  allow  us,  would  have 
arrived,  and  put  an  end  to  our  apprehensions;  but  none  ap 
peared.  The  Indians  now  began  to  strip  every  one  without 
exception  of  their  arms  and  clothes,  and  those  who  made  the 
least  resistance  felt  the  weight  of  their  tomahawks. 

I  happened  to  be  in  the  rear  division,  but  it  was  not  long 
before  I  shared  the  fate  of  my  companions.  Three  or  four  of 
the  savages  laid  hold  of  me,  and  whilst  some  held  their  wea 
pons  over  my  head,  the  others  soon  disrobed  me  of  my  coat, 
waistcoat,  hat  and  buckles,  omitting1  not  to  take  from  me  what 
money  I  had  in  my  pocket.  As  this  was  transacted  close  by 
the  passage  that  led  from  the  lines  on  to  the  plain,  near  which 
a  French  sentinel  was  posted,  I  ran  to  him  and  claimed  his 
protection;  but  he  only  called  me  an  English  dog,  and  thrust 
rne  with  violence  back  again  into  the  midst  of  the  Indians. 

I  now  endeavored  to  join  a  body  of  our  troops  that  were 
crowded  together  at  some  distance ;  but  innumerable  were  the 
blows  that  were  made  at  me  with  different  weapons  as  I  passed 
on ;  luckily  however  the  savages  were  so  close  together  that 
they  could  not  strike  at  me  without  endangering  each  other. 
Notwithstanding  which  one  of  them  found  means  to  make  a 
thrust  at  me  with  a  spear,  which  grazed  my  side,  and  from 
another  I  received  a  wound,  with  the  same  kind  of  weapon,  in 
my  ankle.  At  length  I  gained  the  spot  where  my  countrymen 
stood,  and  forced  myself  into  the  midst  of  them.  But  before 
I  got  thus  far  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  the  collar  and 
wristbands  of  my  shirt  were  all  that  remained  of  it,  and  my 
flesh  was  scratched  and  torn  in  many  places  by  their  savage 
gripes. 

By  this  time  the  war-whoop  was  given,  and  the  Indians 
began  to  murder  those  that  were  nearest  to  them  without  dis 
tinction.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  words  to  give  any  tolerable 
idea  of  the  horrid  scene  that  now  ensued ;  men,  women,  and 
children  were  dispatched  in  the  most  wanton  and  cruel  man 
ner,  and  immediately  scalped.  Many  of  these  savages  drank 
the  blood  of  their  victims,  as  it  flowed  warm  from  the  fatal 
wound. 


CAPTAIN  CARVER'S  NARRATIVE.  175 

We  now  perceived,  though  too  late  to  avail  us,  that  we  were 
to  expect  no  relief  from  the  French  ;  and  that,  contrary  to  the 
agreement  they  had  so  lately  signed  to  allow  us  a  sufficient 
force  to  protect  us  from  these  insults,  they  tacitly  permitted 
them ;  for  I  could  plainly  perceive  the  French  officers  walking 
about  at  some  distance,  discoursing  together  with  apparent 
unconcern.  For  the  honor  of  human  nature  I  would  hope  that 
this  flagrant  breach  of  every  sacred  law  proceeded  rather  from 
the  savage  disposition  of  the  Indians,  which  I  acknowledge  it 
is  sometimes  almost  impossible  to  control,  and  which  might 
now  unexpectedly  have  arrived  to  a  pitch  not  easily  to  be 
restrained,  than  to  any  premeditated  design  in  the  French 
commander.  An  unprejudiced  observer  would,  however,  be 
apt  to  conclude,  that  a  body  of  ten  thousand  Christian  troops, 
most  Christian  troops,  had  it  in  their  power  to  prevent  the  mas 
sacre  from  becoming  so  general.  But  whatever  was  the  cause 
from  which  it  arose,  the  consequences  of  it  were  dreadful,  and 
not  to  be  paralleled  in  modern  history. 

As  the  circle  in  which  I  stood  inclosed  by  this  time  was  much 
thinned,  and  death  seemed  to  be  approaching  with  hasty  strides, 
it  was  proposed  by  some  of  the  most  resolute  to  make  one 
vigorous  effort,  and  endeavor  to  force  our  way  through  the 
savages,  the  only  probable  method  of  preserving  our  lives  that 
now  remained.  This,  however  desperate,  was  resolved  on, 
and  about  twenty  of  us  sprung  at  once  into  the  midst  of  them. 

In  a  moment  we  were  all  separated,  and  what  was  the  fate 
of  my  companions  I  could  not  learn  till  some  months  after, 
when  I  found  that  only  six  or  seven  of  them  effected  their 
design.  Intent  only  on  my  own  hazardous  situation,  I  endea 
vored  to  make  my  way  through  my  savage  enemies  in  the  best 
manner  possible.  And  I  have  often  been  astonished  since, 
when  I  have  recollected  with  what  composure  I  took,  as  I  did, 
every  necessary  step  for  my  preservation.  Some  I  overturned, 
being  at  that  time  young  and  athletic,  and  others  I  passed  by, 
dexterously  avoiding  their  weapons ;  till  at  last  two  very  stout 
chiefs,  of  the  most  savage  tribes,  as  I  could  distinguish  by  their 
dress,  whose  strength  I  could  not  resist,  laid  hold  of  me  by 
each  arm,  and  began  to  force  me  through  the  crowd. 

I  now  resigned  myself  to  my  fate,  not  doubting  but  that  they 
intended  to  dispatch  me,  and  then  to  satiate  their  vengeance 
with  my  blood,  as  I  found  they  were  hurrying  me  towards  a 
retired  swamp  that  lay  at  some  distance.  But  before  we  had 
got  many  yards,  an  English  gentleman  of  some  distinction,  as 
I  could  discover  by  his  breeches,  the  only  covering  he  had  on, 
which  were  of  fine  scarlet  velvet,  rushed  close  by  us.  One  of 
the  Indians  instantly  relinquished  his  hold,  and  springing  on  , 


176  CAPTAIN  CARVER'S  NARRATIVE. 

Jthis  new  object,  endeavored  to  seize  him  as  his  prey ;  but  the 
gentleman  being  strong,  threw  him  on  the  ground,  and  would 
probably  have  got  away,  had  not  he  who  held  my  other  arm 
quitted  me  to  assist  his  brother.  I  seized  the  opportunity,  and 
fastened  away  to  join  another  party  of  English  troops  thai 
Hvere  yet  unbroken,  and  stood  in  a  body  at  some  distance.  But 
before  I  had  taken  many  steps,  I  hastily  cast  my  eye  towards 
£he  gentleman,  and  saw  the  Indian's  tomahawk  gash  into  his 
back,  and  heard  him  utter  his  last  groan.  This  added  both  to 
iny  speed  and  desperation. 

I  had  left  this  shocking  scene  but  a  few  yards,  when  a  fine 
jboy  about  twelve  years  of  age,  that  had  hitherto  escaped,  came 
lip  to  me,  and  begged  that  I  would  let  him  lay  hold  of  me,  so 
that  he  might  stand  some  chance  of  getting  out  of  the  hands 
pf  the  savages.  I  told  him  that  I  would  give  him  every  assis- 
>ance  in  my  power,  and  to  this  purpose  bid  him  lay  hold ;  but 
in  a  few  moments  he  was  torn  from  my  side,  and  by  his  shrieks 
I  judge  was  soon  demolished.  I  could  not  help  forgetting  my 
pwn  cares  for  a  minute,  to  lament  the  fate  of  so  young  a  suf 
ferer  ;  but  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  take  any  methods 
fco  prevent  it. 

I  now  got  once  more  into  the  midst  of  friends,  but  we  were 
unable  to  afford  each  other  any  succor.  As  this  was  the  divi- 
gion  that  had  advanced  the  furthest  from  the  fort,  I  thought 
there  might  be  a  possibility  (though  but  a  bare  one)  of  my 
forcing  my  way  through  the  outer  ranks  of  the  Indians,  and 
getting  to  a  neighboring  wood,  which  I  perceived  at  some  dis 
tance.  I  was  still  encouraged  to  hope  by  the  almost  miraculous 
preservation  I  had  already  experienced. 

Nor  were  my  hopes  in  vain,  or  the  efforts  I  made  ineffectual. 
Suffice  to  say,  that  I  reached  the  wood  ;  but  by  the  time  I  had 
penetrated  a  little  way  into  it,  my  breath  was  so  exhausted 
that  I  threw  myself  into  a  break,  and  lay  for  some  minutes 
apparently  at  the  last  gasp.  At  length  I  recovpred  the  power 
of  respiration;  but  my  apprehensions  returned  with  all  their 
former  force,  when  I  saw  several  savages  pass  by,  probably  in 
pursuit  of  me,  at  no  very  great  distance.  In  this  situation  I 
knew  not  whether  it  was  better  to  proceed,  or  endeavor  to  con 
ceal  myself  where  I  lay  till  night  came  on  ;  fearing,  however, 
that  they  would  return  the  same  way,  I  thought  it  most  prudent 
to  get  further  from  the  dreadful  scene  of  my  distresses.  Ac 
cordingly,  striking  into  another  part  of  the  wood,  I  hastened 
on  as  fast  as  the  briers  and  the  loss  of  one  of  my  shoes  would 
permit  me;  and  after  a  slow  progress  of  some  hours,  gained  a 
hill  that  overlooked  the  plain  which  I  had  just  left,  from  whence 


CAPTAIN    CARVER'S  NARRATIVE.  177 

[  could  discern  that  the  bloody  storm  still  raged  with  unabated 
fury. 

But  not  to  tire  my  readers,  I  shall  only  add,  that  after  pass 
ing  three  days  without  subsistence,  and  enduring  the  severity 
of  the  cold  dews  for  three  nights,  I  at  length  reached  fort  Ed 
ward;  where  with  proper  care  my  body  soon  recovered  its 
wonted  strength,  and  my  mind,  as  far  as  the  recollection  of  the 
late  melancholy  events  would  permit,  its  usual  composure. 

It  was  computed  that  fifteen  hundred  persons  were  killed  or 
made  prisoners  by  these  savages  during  this  fatal  day.  Many 
of  the  latter  were  carried  off  by  them  and  never  returned.  A 
few,  through  favorable  accidents,  found  their  way  back  to  their 
native  country,  after  having  experienced  a  long  and  severe 
captivity. 

The  brave  Col.  Monro  had  hastened  away,  soon  after  the 
confusion  began,  to  the  French  camp,  to  endeavor  to  procure 
the  guard  agreed  by  the  stipulation  ;  but  his  application  prov 
ing  ineffectual,  he  remained  there  till  General  Webb  sent  a 
party  of  troops  to  demand  and  protect  him  back  to  fort  Edward. 
But  these  unhappy  concurrences,  which  would  probably  have 
been  prevented  had  he  been  left  to  pursue  his  own  plans, 
together  with  the  loss  of  so  many  brave  fellows,  murdered  in 
cold  blood,  to  whose  valor  he  had  been  so  lately  a  witness, 
made  such  an  impression  on  his  mind  that  he  did  not  long 
survive.  He  died  in  about  three  months  of  a  broken  heart,  and 
with  truth  might  it  be  said  that  he  was  an  honor  to  his  coun 
try. 

I  mean  not  to  point  out  the  following  circumstance  as  the 
immediate  judgment  of  heaven,  and  intended  as  an  atonement 
for  this  slaughter;  but  I  cannot  omit  that  very  few  of  those 
different  tribes  of  Indians  that  shared  in  it  ever  lived  to  return 
home.  The  small-pox,  by  means  of  their  communication  with 
the  Europeans,  found  its  way  among  them,  and  made  an  equal 
havoc  to  what  they  themselves  had  done.  The  methods  they 
pursued  on  the  first  attack  of  that  malignant  disorder,  to  abate 
the  fever  attending  it,  rendered  it  fatal.  Whilst  their  blood 
was  in  a  state  of  fermentation,  and  nature  was  striving  to  throw 
out  the  peccant  matter,  they  checked  her  operations  by  plung 
ing  into  the  water ;  the  consequence  was  that  they  died  by 
hundreds.  The  few  that  survived  were  transformed  by  it  into 
hideous  objects,  and  bore  with  them  to  the  grave  deep  indented 
marks  of  this  much  dreaded  disease. 

Monsieur  Montcalm  fell  soon  after  on  the  plains  of  Quebec. 

That  the  unprovoked  cruelty  of  this  commander  was  not 
approved  of  by  the  generality  of  his  countrymen,  I  have  since 
been  convinced  of  by  many  proofs.  One  only,  however,  which 


178  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

I  received  from  a  person  who  was  witness  to  it,  shall  I  at  pre 
sent  give.  A  Canadian  merchant,  of  some  consideration, 
having  heard  of  the  surrender  of  the  English  fort,  celebrated 
the  fortunate  event  with  great  rejoicings  and  hospitality,  ac 
cording  to  the  custom  of  that  country  ;  but  no  sooner  did  the 
news  of  the  massacre  which  ensued  reach  his  ears,  than  he 
put  an  immediate  stop  to  the  festivity,  and  exclaimed  in  the 
severest  terms  against  the  inhuman  permission  ;  declaring  at 
the  same  time  that  those  who  had  connived  at  it  had  thereby 
drawn  down  on  that  part  of  their  king's  dominions  the  ven 
geance  of  Heaven.  To  this  he  added,  that  he  much  feared  the 
total  loss  of  them  would  deservedly  be  the  consequence.  How 
truly  this  prediction  has  been  verified  we  well  know. 


AN    ACCOUNT 

OF  THE  REMARKABLE  OCCURRENCES  IN  THE  LIFE  AND 
TRAVELS  OF  COLONEL  JAMES  SMITH,  (LATE  A  CITIZEN  OF 
BOURBON  COUNTY,  KENTUCKY,)  DURING  HIS  CAPTIVITY 
WITH  THE  INDIANS,  IN  THE  YEARS  1755,  '56,  '57,  '58,  AND  '59. 
In  which  the  Customs,  Manners,  Traditions,  Theological  Sentiments,  Mode 
of  Warfare,  Military  Tactics,  Discipline  and  Encampments,  Treatment  of 
Prisoners,  &c.  are  better  explained,  and  more  minutely  related,  than  has  been 
heretofore  done  by  any  author  on  that  subject.  Together  with  a  description 
of  the  Soil,  Timber  and  Waters,  where  he  travelled  with  the  Indians  during 
his  captivity. — To  which  is  added  a  brief  account  of  some  very  uncommon 
occurrences  which  transpired  after  his  return  from  captivity ;  as  well  as  of 
the  different  campaigns  carried  on  against  the  Indians  to  the  westward  of 
fort  Pitt,  since  the  year  1755,  to  the  present  date,  1799.— Written  by  himself. 

PREFACE. — I  was  strongly  urged  to  publish  the  following 
work  immediately  after  my  return  from  captivity,  which  was 
nearly  forty  years  ago ;  but,  as  at  that  time  the  Americans 
were  so  little  acquainted  with  Indian  affairs,  I  apprehended  a 
great  part  of  it  would  be  viewed  as  fable  or  romance. 

As  the  Indians  never  attempted  to  prevent  me  either  from 
reading  or  writing,  I  kept  a  journal,  which  I  revised  shortly 
after  my  return  from  captivity,  and  which  I  have  kept  ever 
since;  and  as  I  have  had  but  a  moderate  English  education, 
have  been  advised  to  employ  some  person  of  liberal  education 
to  transcribe  and  embellish  it — but  believing  that  nature  always 
outshines  art,  have  thought,  that  occurrences  truly  and  plainly 


j 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  179 

stated,  as  they  happened,  would  make  the  best  history,  be  bet 
ter  understood,  and  most  entertaining1. 

In  the  different  Indian  speeches  copied  into  this  work,  I  have 
not  only  imitated  their  own  style,  or  mode  of  speaking,  but  have 
also  preserved  the  ideas  meant  to  be  communicated  in  those 
speeches.  In  common  conversation  I  have  used  my  own  style, 
but  preserved  their  ideas.  The  principal  advantag-e  that  I 
expect  will  result  to  the  public,  from  the  publication  of  the  fol 
lowing  sheets,  is  the  observations  on  the  Indian  mode  of  ivarfare. 
Experience  has  taught  the  Americans  the  necessity  of  adopting 
their  mode ;  and  the  more  perfect  we  are  in  that  mode,  the 
better  we  shall  be  able  to  defend  ourselves  against  them,  when 
defence  is  necessary. 

JAMES  SMITH. 

Bourbon  County,  June  lsty  1799. 

INTRODUCTION. — More  than  thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  publica 
tion  of  Col.  Smith's  journal.  The  only  edition  ever  presented  to  the  pub- 
lie  was  printed  in  Lexington,  Kentucky,  by  John  Bradford,  in  1799.  That 
edition  being  in  pamphlet  form,  it  is  presumed  that  there  is  not  now  a 
dozen  entire  copies  remaining.  A  new  generation  has  sprung  up,  and  it  is 
believed  the  time  has  now  arrived,  when  a  second  edition,  in  a  more  dura 
ble  form,  will  be  well  received  by  the  public.  The  character  of  Colonel 
Smith  is  well  known  in  the  western  country,  especially  amongst  the  vete 
ran  pioneers  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  He  was  a  patriot  in  the  strictest 
sense  of  the  word.  His  whole  life  was  devoted  to  the  service  of  his  coun 
try.  Raised,  as  it  were,  in  the  wilderness,  he  received  but  a  limited  edu 
cation  ;  yet  nature  had  endowed  him  with  a  vigorous  constitution,  and  a 
strong  and  sensible  mind ;  and  whether  in  the  camp  or  the  halls  of  legis 
lation,  he  gave  ample  proofs  of  being,  by  practice  as  well  as  profession,  a 
soldier  and  a  statesman. 

During  the  war  of  1S11  and  12,  being  then  too  old  to  be  serviceable  in 
the  field,  he  made  a  tender  of  his  experience,  and  published  a  treatise  on 
the  Indian  mode  of  warfare,  with  which  sad  experience  had  made  him  so 
well  acquainted.  He  died  shortly  afterwards,  at  the  house  of  a  brother- 
in-law,  in  Washington  county,  Kentucky.  He  was  esteemed  by  all  who 
knew  him  as  an  exemplary  Christian,  and  a  consistent  and  unwavering 
patriot. 

By  his  first  marriage,  he  had  several  children ;  and  two  of  his  sons, 
"William  and  James,  it  is  believed,  are  now  living.  The  name  of  his  first 
wife  is  not  recollected. 

In  the  year  1785,  he  intermarried  with  Mrs.  Margaret  Irvin,  the  widow 
of  Mr.  Abraham  Irvin.  Mrs.  Irvin  was  a  lady  of  a  highly  cultivated 
mind ;  and  had  she  lived  in  more  auspicious  times,  and  possessed  the 
advantages  of  many  of  her  sex,  she  would  have  made  no  ordinary  figure 
as  a  writer,  both  in  prose  and  verse.  And  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to 
the  friends  of  Col.  Smith  to  give  a  short  sketch  of  her  life.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Rodgers.  She  was  born  in  the  year  1744,  in  Hanover  county, 
Virginia.  She  was  of  a  respectable  family ;  her  father  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Rodgers,  of  New  York,  were  brothers'  children.  Her  mother  was  sister 
to  the  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  who  was  killed  by  the  British  and  tories  at 
Elizabeth  Point,  New  Jersey.  Her  father  removed,  when  she  was  a  child, 


180  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

to  what  was  then  called  Lunenburg,  now  Charlotte  county,  Virginia.  She 
never  went  to  school  but  three  months,  and  that  at  the  age  of  five  years. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  term  the  school  ceased,  and  she  had  no  opportu 
nity  to  attend  one  afterwards.  Her  mother,  however,  being  an  intelligent 
woman,  and  an  excellent  scholar,  gave  her  lessons  at  home.  On  the  5th 
of  November,  1764,  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Irvin,  a  respectable  man, 
though  in  moderate  circumstances.  In  the  year  1777,  when  every  true 
friend  of  his  country  felt  it  his  duty  to  render  some  personal  service,  he 
and  a  neighbor,  by  the  name  of  William  Handy,  agreed  that  they  would 
enlist  for  the  term  of  three  years,  and  each  to  serve  eighteen  months ; 
Irvin  to  serve  the  first  half,  and  Handy  the  second.  Mr.  Irvin  entered 
upon  duty,  in  company  with  many  others  from  that  section  of  the  country. 
When  they  had  marched  to  Dumfries,  Va.,  before  they  joined  the  main 
army,  they  were  ordered  to  halt,  and  inoculate  for  the  small-pox.  Irvin 
neglected  to  inoculate,  under  the  impression  he  had  had  the  disease  during 
infancy.  The  consequence  was,  he  took  the  small-pox  in  the  natural  way, 
and  died,  leaving  Mrs.  Irvin,  and  five  small  children,  four  sons  and  a 
daughter. 

In  the  fall  of  1782,  Mrs.  Irvin  removed,  in  company  with  a  number  of 
enterprising  Virginians,  to  the  wilds  of  Kentucky  ;  and  three  years  after 
wards  intermarried  with  Col.  Smith,  by  whom  she  had  no  issue.  She  died 
about  the  year  1800,  in  Bourbon  county,  Kentucky,  in  the  56th  year  of 
her  age.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  sustained 
through  life  an  unblemished  reputation.  In  early  life  she  wrote  but  little, 
most  of  her  productions  being  the  fruits  of  her  maturer  years,  and  while 
she  was  the  wife  of  Col.  Smith.  But  little  of  her  composition  has  ever 
been  put  to  press ;  but  her  genius  and  taste  were  always  acknowledged  by 
those  who  had  access  to  the  productions  of  her  pen.  She  had  a  happy 
talent  for  pastoral  poetry,  and  many  fugitive  pieces  ascribed  to  her  will 
long  be  cherished  and  admired  by  the  children  of  song. 

NARRATIVE. — In  May,  1755,  the  province  of  Pennsylvania 
agreed  to  send  out  three  hundred  men,  in  order  to  cut  a  wagon 
road  from  fort  Loudon,  to  join  Braddock's  road,  near  the  Tur 
key  Foot,  or  three  forks  of  Yohogania.  My  brother-in-law, 
William  Smith,  Esq.  of  Conococheague,  was  appointed  com 
missioner,  to  have  the  oversight  of  these  road-cutters. 

Though  I  was  at  that  time  only  eighteen  years  of  age,  I  had 
fallen  violently  in  love  with  a  young  lady,  whom  I  apprehended 
was  possessed  of  a  large  share  of  both  beauty  and  virtue  ;  but 
being  born  between  Venus  and  Mars,  I  concluded  I  must  also 
leave  my  dear  fair  one,  and  go  out  with  this  company  of  road- 
cutters,  to  see  the  event  of  this  campaign ;  but  still  expecting 
that  some  time  in  the  course  of  this  summer  I  should  again 
return  to  the  arms  of  my  beloved. 

We  went  on  with  the  road,  without  interruption,  until  near 
the  Alleghany  mountain ;  when  I  was  sent  back,  in  order  to 
hurry  up  some  provision-wagons  that  were  on  the  way  after 
us.  I  proceeded  down  the  road  as  far  as  the  crossings  of  Ju- 
niata,  where,  finding  the  wagons  were  coming  on  as  fast  as 
possible,  I  returned  up  the  road  again  towards  the  Alleghany 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  181 

mountain,  in  company  with  one  Arnold  Vigoras.  About  four 
or  five  miles  above  Bedford,  three  Indians  had  made  a  blind  of 
bushes,  stuck  in  the  ground,  as  though  they  grew  naturally, 
where  they  concealed  themselves,  about  fifteen  yards  from  the 
road.  When  we  came  opposite  to  them,  they  fired  upon  us,  at 
this  short  distance,  and  killed  my  fellow-traveller,  yet  their 
bullets  did  not  touch  me  ;  but  my  horse  making  a  violent  start, 
threw  me,  and  the  Indians  immediately  ran  up  and  took  me 
prisoner.  The  one  that  laid  hold  on  me  was  a  Canasatauga, 
the  other  two  were  Delawares.  One  of  them  could  speak 
English,  and  asked  me  if  there  were  any  more  white  men 
corning  after.  I  told  them  not  any  near  that  I  knew  of.  Two 
of  these  Indians  stood  by  me,  whilst  the  other  scalped  my 
comrade  ;  they  then  set  off  and  ran  at  a  smart  rate  through  the 
woods,  for  about  fifteen  miles,  and  that  night  we  slept  on  the 
Alleghany  mountain,  without  fire. 

The  next  morning  they  divided  the  last  of  their  provision 
which  they  had  brought  from  fort  Du  Quesne,  and  gave  me  an 
equal  share,  which  was  about  two  or  three  ounces  of  mouldy 
biscuit ;  this  and  a  young  ground-hog,  about  as  large  as  a  rab 
bit,  roasted,  and  also  equally  divided,  was  all  the  provision  we 
had  until  we  came  to  the  Loyal  Hannan,  which  was  about  fifty 
miles  ;  and  a  great  part  of  the  way  we  came  through  exceed 
ing  rocky  laurel  thickets,  without  any  path.  When  we  came 
to  the  west  side  of  Laurel  hill,  they  gave  the  scalp  halloo,  as 
usual,  which  is  a  long  yell  or  halloo  for  every  scalp  or  prisoner 
they  have  in  possession ;  the  last  of  these  scalp  halloos  were 
followed  with  quick  and  sudden  shrill  shouts  of  joy  and  tri 
umph.  On  their  performing  this,  we  were  answered  by  the 
firing  of  a  number  of  guns  on  the  Loyal  Hannan,  one  after 
another,  quicker  than  one  could  count,  by  another  party  of 
Indians,  who  were  encamped  near  where  Ligoneer  now  stands. 
As  we  advanced  near  this  party,  they  increased  with  repeated 
shouts  of  joy  and  triumph ;  but  I  did  not  share  with  them  in 
their  excessive  mirth.  When  we  came  to  this  camp,  \ve  found 
they  had  plenty  of  turkeys  and  other  meat  there ;  and  though 
I  never  before  eat  venison  without  bread  or  salt,  yet  as  I  was 
hungry  it  relished  very  well.  There  we  lay  that  night,  and 
the  next  morning  the  whole  of  us  marched  on  our  way  for  fort 
Du  Quesne.  The  night  after  we  joined  another  camp  of  In 
dians,  with  nearly  the  same  ceremony,  attended  with  great 
noise,  and  apparent  joy,  among  all  except  one.  The  next 
morning  we  continued  our  march,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  came 
in  full  view  of  the  fort,  which  stood  on  the  point,  near  where 
fort  Pitt  now  stands.  We  then  made  a  halt  on  the  bank  of  the 
Alleghany,  and  repeated  the  scalp  halloo,  which  was  answered 
16 


182  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

by  the  firing  of  all  the  firelocks  in  the  hands  of  both  Indians 
and  French  who  were  in  and  about  the  fort,  in  the  aforesaid 
manner,  and  also  the  great  guns,  which  were  followed  by  the 
continued  shouts  and  yells  of  the  different  savage  tribes  who 
were  then  collected  there. 

As  I  was  at  this  time  unacquainted  with  this  mode  of  firing 
and  yelling  of  the  savages,  I  concluded  that  there  were  thou 
sands  of  Indians  there  ready  to  receive  General  Braddock ;  but 
what  added  to  my  surprise,  I  saw  numbers  running  towards 
me,  stripped  naked,  excepting  breech-clouts,  and  painted  in  the 
most  hideous  manner,  of  various  colors,  though  the  principal 
color  was  vermillion,  or  a  bright  red  ;  yet  there  was  annexed  to 
this  black,  brown,  blue,  &c.  As  they  approached,  they  formed 
themselves  into  two  long  ranks,  about  two  or  three  rods  apart. 
I  was  told  by  an  Indian  that  could  speak  English,  that  I  must 
run  betwixt  these  ranks,  and  that  they  would  flog  me  all  the 
way  as  I  ran ;  and  if  I  ran  quick,  it  would  be  so  much  the 
better,  as  they  would  quit  when  I  got  to  the  end  of  the  ranks. 
There  appeared  to  be  a  general  rejoicing  around  me,  yet  I 
could  find  nothing  like  joy  in  my  breast ;  but  I  started  to  the 
race  with  all  the  resolution  and  vigor  I  was  capable  of  exerting, 
and  found  that  it  was  as  I  had  been  told,  for  I  was  flogged  the 
whole  way.  When  I  had  got  near  the  end  of  the  lines,  I  was 
struck  with  something  that  appeared  to  me  to  be  a  slick,  or  the 
.  handle  of  a  tomahawk,  which  caused  me  to  fall  to  the  ground. 
On  my  recovering  my  senses,  I  endeavored  to  renew  my  race ; 
but  as  I  arose,  some  one  cast  sand  in  my  eyes,  which  blinded 
me  so  that  I  could  not  see  where  to  run.  They  continued 
beating  me  most  intolerably,  until  I  was  at  length  insensible ; 
but  before  I  lost  my  senses,  I  remember  my  wishing  them  to 
strike  the  fatal  blow,  for  I  thought  they  intended  killing  me, 
but  apprehended  they  were  too  long  about  it. 

The  first  thing  I  remember  was  my  being  in  the  fort  amidst 
the  French  and  Indians,  and  a  French  doctor  standing  by  me, 
who  had  opened  a  vein  in  my  left  arm  :  after  which  the  inter 
preter  asked  me  how  I  did ;  I  told  him  I  felt  much  pain.  The 
doctor  then  washed  my  wounds,  and  the  bruised  places  of  my 
body,  with  French  brandy.  As  I  felt  faint,  and  the  brandy 
smelt  well,  I  asked  for  some  inwardly,  but  the  doctor  told  me, 
by  the  interpreter,  that  it  did  not  suit  my  case. 

When  they  found  I  could  speak,  a  number  of  Indians  came 
around  me,  and  examined  me,  with  threats  of  cruel  death  if  1 
did  not  tell  the  truth.  The  first  question  they  asked  me  was 
how  many  men  were  there  in  the  party  that  were  coming  from 
Pennsylvania  to  join  Braddock  ?  I  told  them  the  truth,  that 
there  were  three  hundred.  The  next  question  was,  were  they 


COLONEL  SMITH'S   CAPTIVITY.  183 

well  armed  ?  I  told  them  they  were  all  well  armed,  (meaning 
the  arm  of  flesh,)  for  they  had  only  about  thirty  guns  among 
the  whole  of  them;  which  if  the  Indians  had  known,  they 
would  certainly  have  gone  and  cut  them  all  off;  therefore,  I 
could  not  in  conscience  let  them  know  the  defenceless  situation 
of  these  road-cutters.  I  was  then  sent  to  the  hospital,  and 
carefully  attended  by  the  doctors,  and  recovered  quicker  than 
what  I  expected. 

Some  time  after  I  was  there,  I  was  visited  by  the  Delaware 
Indian  already  mentioned,  who  was  at  the  taking  of  me,  and 
could  speak  some  English.  Though  he  spoke  but  bad  English, 
yet  I  found  him  to  be  a  man  of  considerable  understanding. 
I  asked  him  if  I  had  done  any  thing  that  had  offended  the  In 
dians  which  caused  them  to  treat  me  so  unmercifully.  He 
said  no ;  it  was  only  an  old  custom  the  Indians  had,  and  it  was 
like  how  do  you  do ;  after  that,  he  said,  I  would  be  well  used. 
I  asked  him  if  I  should  be  admitted  to  remain  with  the  French. 
He  said  no ;  and  told  me  that,  as  soon  as  I 'recovered,  I  must 
not  only  go  with  the  Indians,  but  must  be  made  an  Indian  my 
self.  I  asked  him  what  news  from  Braddock's  army.  He 
said  the  Indians  spied  them  every  day,  and  he  showed  me,  by 
making  marks  on  the  ground  with  a  stick,  that  Braddock's 
army  was  advancing  in  very  close  order,  and  that  the  Indians 
would  surround  them,  take  trees,  and  (as  he  expressed  it)  shoot 
um  down  all  one  pigeon. 

Shortly  after  this,  on  the  9th  day  of  July,  1755,  in  the 
morning,  I  heard  a  great  stir  in  the  fort.  As  I  could  then 
walk  with  a  staff  in  my  hand,  I  went  out  of  the  door,  which 
was  just  by  the  wall  of  the  fort,  and  stood  upon  the  wall,  and 
viewed  the  Indians  in  a  huddle  before  the  gate,  where  were 
barrels  of  powder,  bullets,  flints,  &c.,  and  every  one  taking 
what  suited.  I  saw  the  Indians  also  march  off  in  rank  entire  ; 
likewise  the  French  Canadians,  and  some  regulars.  After 
viewing  the  Indians  and  French  in  different  positions,  I  com 
puted  them  to  be  about  four  hundred,  and  wondered  that  they 
attempted  to  go  out  against  Braddock  with  so  small  a  party. 
I  was  then  in  high  hopes  that  I  would  soon  see  them  fly  before 
the  British  troops,  and  that  General  Braddock  would  take  the 
fort  and  rescue  me. 

I  remained  anxious  to  know  the  event  of  this  day ;  and,  in 
the  afternoon,  I  again  observed  a  great  noise  and  commotion 
An  the  fort,  and  though  at  that  time  I  could  not  understand 
French,  yet  I  found  that  it  was  the  voice  of  joy  and  triumph, 
and  feared  that  they  had  received  what  I  called  bad  news. 

I  had  observed  some  of  the  old  country  soldiers  speak 
Dutch :  as  I  spoke  Dutch,  I  went  to  one  of  them,  and  asked 


184  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

him  what  was  the  news.  He  told  me  that  a  runner  had  just 
arrived,  who  said  that  Braddock  would  certainly  be  defeated  • 
that  the  Indians  and  French  had  surrounded  him,  and  were 
concealed  behind  trees  and  in  gullies,  and  kept  a  constant  fire 
upon  the  English,  and  that  they  saw  the  English  falling  in 
heaps,  and  if  they  did  not  take  the  river,  which  was  the  only 
gap,  and  make  their  escape,  there  would  not  be  one  man  left 
alive  before  sundown.  Some  time  after  this  I  heard  a  number 
of  scalp  halloos,  and  saw  a  company  of  Indians  and  French 
coming  in.  I  observed  they  had  a  great  many  bloody  scalps, 
grenadiers'  caps,  British  canteens,  bayonets,  &c.  with  them. 
They  brought  the  news  that  Braddock  was  defeated.  After 
that  another  company  came  in,  which  appeared  to  be  about  one 
hundred,  and  chiefly  Indians,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  almost 
every  one  of  this  company  was  carrying  scalps ;  after  this 
came  another  company  with  a  number  of  wagon  horses,  and 
also  a  great  many  scalps.  Those  that  were  coming  in,  and 
those  that  hAd  arrived,  kept  a  constant  firing  of  small  arms, 
and  also  the  great  guns  in  the  fort,  which  were  accompanied 
with  the  most  hideous  shouts  and  yells  from  all  quarters ;  so 
that  it  appeared  to  me  as  if  the  infernal  regions  had  broke 
loose. 

About  sundown  I  beheld  a  small  party  coming  in  with 
about  a  dozen  prisoners,  stripped  naked,  with  their  hands  tied 
behind  their  backs,  and  their  faces  and  part  of  their  bodies 
blacked  ;  these  prisoners  they  burned  to  death  on  the  bank  of 
Alleghany  river,  opposite  to  the  fort.  I  stood  on  the  fort  wall 
until  I  beheld  them  begin  to  burn  one  of  these  men  ;  they 
had  him  tied  to  a  stake,  and  kept  touching  him  with  firebrands, 
red-hot  irons,  &c.,  and  he  screamed  in  a  most  doleful  manner; 
the  Indians,  in  the  mean  time,  yelling  like  infernal  spirits. 

As  this  scene  appeared  too  shocking  for  me  to  behold,  I 
retired  to  my  lodgings  both  sore  and  sorry. 

When  I  came  into  my  lodgings  I  saw  RussePs  Seven  Ser 
mons,  which  they  had  brought  from  the  field  of  battle,  which  a 
Frenchman  made  a  present  to  me.  From  the  best  information 
I  could  receive,  there  were  only  seven  Indians  and  four  French 
killed  in  this  battle,  and  five  hundred  British  lay  dead  in  the 
field,  besides  what  were  killed  in  the  river  on  their  retreat. 

The  morning  after  the  battle  I  saw  Braddock 's  artillery 
brought  into  the  fort;  the  same  day  I  also  saw  several  Indian? 
in  British  officers'  dress,  with  sash,  half  moon,  laced  hats,  ice., 
which  the  British  then  wore. 

A  few  days  after  this  the  Indians  demanded  me,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  go  with  them.  I  was  not  yet  well  able  to  march, 
but  they  took  me  in  a  ?.anoe  up  the  Alleghany  river  to  an  In- 


ADOPTION  OF  COLONEL  SMITH,  BY  THI  CTDUWS. 


(See  p.  185) 


COLONEL  SMITHS  CAPTIVITY.  185 

dian  town,  that  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  about  forty 
miles  above  fort  Du  Quesne.  Here  I  remained  about  three 
weeks,  and  was  then  taken  to  an  Indian  town  on  the  west 
branch  of  Muskingum,  about  twenty  miles  above  the  forks, 
which  was  called  Tullihas,  inhabited  by  Delawares,  Caughne- 
wagas,  and  Mohicans.  On  our  route  betwixt  the  aforesaid 
towns  the  country  was  chiefly  black  oak  and  white  oak  land, 
which  appeared  generally  to  be  good  wheat  land,  chiefly  second 
and  third  rate,  intermixed  with  some  rich  bottoms. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  at  the  aforesaid  town,  a  number 
of  Indians  collected  about  me,  and  one  of  them  began  to  pull 
the  hair  out  of  my  head.  He  had  some  ashes  on  a  piece  of 
bark,  in  which  he  frequently  dipped  his  fingers,  in  order  to 
take  the  firmer  hold,  and  so  he  went  on,  as  if  he  had  been 
plucking  a  turkey,  until  he  had  all  the  hair  clean  out  of  my 
head,  except  a  small  spot  about  three  or  four  inches  square  on 
my  crown  ;  this  they  cut  off  with  a  pair  of  scissors,  excepting 
three  locks,  which  they  dressed  up  in  their  own  mode.  Two 
of  these  they  wrapped  round  with  a  narrow  beaded  garter 
made  by  themselves  for  that  purpose,  and  the  other  they  plaited 
at  full  length,  and  then  stuck  it  full  of  silver  brooches.  After 
this  they  bored  my  nose  and  ears,  and  fixed  me  off  with  ear 
rings  and  nose  jewels ;  then  they  ordered  me  to  strip  off  my 
clothes  and  put  on  a  breech-clout,  which  I  did ;  they  then 
painted  my  head,  face,  and  body,  in  various  colors.  They  put 
a  large  belt  of  wampum  on  my  neck,  and  silver  bands  on  my 
hands  and  right  arm;  and  so  an  old  chief  led  me  out  in  the 
street,  and  gave  the  alarm  halloo,  coo-ivigh,  several  times 
repeated  quick ;  and  on  this,  all  that  were  in  the  town  came 
running  and  stood  round  the  old  chief,  who  held  me  by  the 
hand  in  the  midst.  As  I  at  that  time  knew  nothing  of  their 
mode  of  adoption,  and  had  seen  them  put  to  death  all  they  had 
taken,  and  as  I  never  could  find  that  they  saved  a  man  alive 
at  Braddock's  defeat,  I  made  no  doubt  but  they  were  about 
putting  me  to  death  in  some  cruel  manner.  The  old  chief, 
holding  me  by  the  hand,  made  a  long  speech,  very  loud,  and 
when  he  had  done,  he  handed  me  to  three  young  squawSj 
who  led  me  by  the  hand  down  the  bank,  into  the  river,  until 
the  water  was  up  to  our  middle.  The  squaws  then  made  signs 
to  me  to  plunge  myself  into  the  water,  but  I  did  not  understand 
them ;  I  thought  that  the  result  of  the  council  was  that  I 
should  be  drowned,  and  that  these  young  ladies  were  to  be  the 
executioners.  They  all  three  laid  violent  hold  of  me,  and  I 
for  some  time  opposed  them  with  all  my  might,  which  occa 
sioned  loud  laughter  by  the  multitude  that  were  on  the  bank 
of  the  river.  At  length  one  of  the  squaws  made  out  to  speak 


186  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

a  little  English,  (for  I  believe  they  began  to  be  afraid  of  me," 
and  said  no  hurt  you.  On  this  I  gave  myself  up  to  their  lady 
ships,  who  were  as  good  as  their  word;  for  though  they 
plunged  me  under  water,  and  washed  and  rubbed  me  severely, 
yet  I  could  not  say  they  hurt  me  much. 

These  young  women  then  led  me  up  to  the  council  house, 
where  some  of  the  tribe  were  ready  with  new  clothes  for  me. 
They  gave  me  a  new  ruffled  shirt,  which  I  put  on,  also  a  pair 
of  leggins  done  off  with  ribbons  and  beads,  likewise  a  pair  of 
moccasins,  and  garters  dressed  with  beads,  porcupine  quills, 
and  red  hair — also  a  tinsel  laced  cappo.  They  again  painted 
my  head  and  face  with  various  colors,  and  tied  a  bunch  of  red 
feathers  to  one  of  those  locks  they  had  left  on  the  crown  of 
my  head,  which  stood  up  five  or  six  inches.  They  seated  me 
on  a  bearskin,  and  gave  me  a  pipe,  tomahawk,  and  polecat- 
skin  pouch,  which  had  been  skinned  pocket  fashion,  and  con 
tained  tobacco,  killegenico,  or  dry  sumach  leaves,  which  they 
mix  with  their  tobacco ;  also  spunk,  flint,  and  steel.  When  I 
was  thus  seated,  the  Indians  came  in  dressed  and  painted  in 
their  grandest  manner.  As  they  came  in  they  took  their  seats, 
and  for  a  considerable  time  there  was  a  profound  silence — 
every  one  was  smoking ;  but  not  a  word  was  spoken  among 
them.  At  length  one  of  the  chiefs  made  a  speech,  which  was 
delivered  to  me  by  an  interpreter,  and  was  as  followeth  :  "  My 
son,  you  are  now  flesh  of  our  flesh,  and  bone  of  our  bone.  By 
the  ceremony  which  was  performed  this  day  every  drop  of 
white  blood  was  washed  out  of  your  veins ;  you  are  taken  into 
the  Caughnewago  nation,  and  initiated  into  a  warlike  tribe ; 
you  are  adopted  into  a  great  family,  and  now  received  with  great 
seriousness  and  solemnity  in  the  room  and  place  of  a  great 
man.  After  what  has  passed  this  day,  you  are  now  one  of  us 
by  an  old  strong  law  and  custom.  My  son,  you  have  now 
nothing  to  fear — we  are  now  under  the  same  obligations  to 
love,  support,  and  defend  you  that  we  are  to  love  and  to  defend 
one  another ;  therefore,  you  are  to  consider  yourself  as  one  of 
our  people."  At  this  time  I  did  not  believe  this  fine  speech, 
especially  that  of  the  white  blood  being  washed  out  of  me ;  but 
since  that  time  I  have  found  that  there  was  much  sincerity 
in  said  speech ;  for,  from  that  day,  I  never  knew  them  to  make 
any  distinction  between  me  and  themselves  in  any  respect 
whatever  until  I  left  them.  If  they  had  plenty  of  clothing,  I 
had  plenty ;  if  we  were  scarce,  we  all  shared  one  fate. 

After  this  ceremony  was  over,  I  was  introduced  to  my  new 
kin,  and  told  that  I  was  to  attend  a  feast  that  evening,  which 
I  did.  And  as  the  custom  was,  they  gave  me  also  a  bowl  and 
wooden  spoon,  which  I  carried  with  me  to  the  place,  where 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  187 

there  was  a  number  of  large  brass  kettles  full  of  boiled  veni 
son  and  green  corn ;  every  one  advanced  with  his  bowl  and 
spoon,  and  had  his  share  given  him.  After  this,  one  of  the 
chiefs  made  a  short  speech,  and  then  we  began  to  eat. 

The  name  of  one  of  the  chiefs  in  this  town  was  Tecanyate- 
righto,  alias  Pluggy,  and  the  other  Asallecoa,  alias  Mohawk 
Solomon.  As  Pluggy  and  his  party  were  to  start  the  next  day 
to  war,  to  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  the  next  thing  to  be  per 
formed  was  the  war-dance,  and  their  war-songs.  At  their  war- 
dance  they  had  both  vocal  and  instrumental  music ;  they  had 
a  short  hollow  gum,  closed  at  one  end,  with  wate'r  in  it,  and 
parchment  stretched  over  the  open  end  thereof,  which  they  beat 
with  one  stick,  and  made  a  sound  nearly  like  a  muffled  drum. 
All  those  who  were  going  on  this  expedition  collected  together 
and  formed.  An  old  Indian  then  began  to  sing,  and  timed  the 
music  by  beating  on  this  drum,  as  the  ancients  formerly  timed 
their  music  by  beating  the  tabor.  On  this  the  warriors  began 
to  advance,  or  move  forward  in  concert,  like  well-disciplined 
troops  woul(i»  march  to  the  fife  and  drum.  Each  warrior  had 
a  tomahawk,  spear,  or  war-mallet  in  his  hand,  and  they  all 
moved  regularly  towards  the  east,  or  the  way  they  intended  to 
go  to  war-  At  length  they  all  stretched  their  tomahawks 
towards  the  Potomac,  and  giving  a  hideous  shout  or  yell,  they 
wheeled  quick  about,  and  danced  in  the  same  manner  back. 
The  next  was  the  war-song.  In  performing  this,  only  one 
sung  at  a  time,  in  a  moving  posture,  with  a  tomahawk  in  his 
hand,  while  all  the  other  warriors  were  engaged  in  calling 
aloud  ke-uh,  he-uh,  which  they  constantly  repeated  while  the 
war-song  was  going  on.  When  the  warrior  that  was  singing 
had  ended  his  song,  he  struck  a  war-post  with  his  tomahawk, 
and  with  a  loud  voice  told  what  warlike  exploits  he  had  done, 
and  what  he  now  intended  to  do,  which  were  answered  by  the 
other  warriors  with  loud  shouts  of  applause.  Some  who  had 
not  before  intended  to  go  to  war,  at  this  time,  were  so  animated 
by  this  performance,  that  they  took  up  the  tomahawk  and  sung 
the  war-song,  which  was  answered  with  shouts  of  joy,  as  they 
were  then  initiated  into  the  present  marching  company.  The 
next  morning  this  company  all  collected  at  one 'place,  with  their 
heads  and  faces  painted  with  various  colors,  and  packs  upon 
their  backs  ;  they  marched  off,  all  silent,  except  the  command 
er,  who,  in  the  front,  sung  the  travelling  song,  which  began  in 
this  manner  :  hoo  caughtainte  heeg&na.  Just  as  the  rear  pass 
ed  the  end  of  the  town,  they  began  to  fire  in  their  slow  man 
ner,  from  the  front  to  the  rear,  which  was  accompanied  with 
shouts  and  yells  from  all  quarters.  ]j 

This  evening  I  was  invited  to  another  sort  of  dance,  which 


188  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

was  a  kind  of  promiscuous  dance.  The  young  men  stood  in 
one  rank,  and  the  young-  women  in  another,  about  one  rod  apart, 
facing  each  other.  The  one  that  raised  the  tune,  or  started 
the  song,  held  a  small  gourd  or  dry  shell  of  a  squash  in  his 
hand,  which  contained  beads  or  small  stones,  which  rattled. 
When  he  began  to  sing,  he  timed  the  tune  with  his  rattle  ;  both 
men  and  women  danced  and  sung  together,  advancing  towards 
each  other,  stooping  until  their  heads  would  be  touching  to 
gether,  and  then  ceased  from  dancing,  with  loud  shouts,  and 
retreated  and  formed  again,  and  so  repeated  the  same  thing 
over  and  over,  for  three  or  four  hours,  without  intermission. 
This  exercise  appeared  to  me  at  first  irrational  and  insipid; 
but  I  found  that  in  singing  their  tunes  they  used  ya  ne  no  hoo 
wa  ne,  &c.,  like  our  fa  sol  la,  and  though  they  have  no  such 
thing  as  jingling  verse,  yet  they  can  intermix  sentences  with 
their  notes,  and  say  what  they  please  to  each  other,  and  carry 
On  the  tune  in  concert.  I  found  that  this  was  a  kind  of  wooing 
or  courting  dance,  and  as  they  advanced  stooping  with  their 
heads  together,  they  could  say  what  they  pleased  in  each  oth 
er's  ear,  without  disconcerting  their  rough  music,  and  the  others, 
or  those  near,  not  hear  what  they  said. 

Shortly  after  this  I  went  out  to  hunt,  in  company  with  Mo 
hawk  Solomon,  some  of  the  Caughnewagas,  and  a  Delaware 
Indian,  that  was  married  to  a  Caughnewaga  squaw.  We  tra 
velled  about  south  from  this  town,  and  the  first  night  we  killed 
nothing,  but  we  had  with  us  green  corn,  which  we  roasted  and 
ate  that  night.  The  next  day  we  encamped  about  twelve 
o'clock,  and  the  hunters  turned  out  to  hunt,  and  I  went  down 
the  run  that  we  encamped  on,  in  company  with  some  squaws 
and  boys,  to  hunt  plums,  which  we  found  in  great  plenty.  On 
my  return  to  camp  I  observed  a  large  piece  of  fat  meat ;  the 
Delaware  Indian,  that  could  talk  some  English,  observed  me 
looking  earnestly  at  this  meat,  and  asked  me,  what  meat  you 
think  that  is  ?  I  said  1  supposed  it  was  bear  meat ;  he  laugh 
ed,  and  said,  ho,  all  one  fool  you,  leal  now  elly  pool,  and  point 
ing  to  the  other  side  of  the  camp,  he  said,  look  at  that  skin, 
you  think  that  leal  skin  ?  I  went  and  lifted  the  skin,  which 
appeared  like  an  ox-hide  ;  he  then  said,  what  skin  you  think 
that  ?  I  replied,  that  I  thought  it  was  a  buffalo  hide  ;  he 
laughed,  and  said,  you  fool  again,  you  know  nothing,  you  think 
buffalo  that  colo'f  I  acknowledged  I  did  not  know  much  about 
these  things,  and  told  him  I  never  saw  a  buffalo,  and  that  I 
had  not  heard  what  color  they  were.  He  replied,  by  and  ly 
you  shall  see  gleat  many  buffalo ;  he  now  go  to  gleat  lick- 
That  skin  no  buffalo  skin,  that  skin  buck-elk  skin.  They  went 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  189 

out  with  horses,  and  brought  in  the  remainder  of  this  buck-elk, 
which  was  the  fattest  creature  I  ever  saw  of  the  tallow  kind. 

We  remained  at  this  camp  about  eight  or  ten  days,  and  kill 
ed  a  number  of  deer.  Though  we  had  neither  bread  nor  sail 
at  this  time,  yet  we  had  both  roast  and  boiled  meat  in  great 
plenty,  and  they  were  frequently  inviting  me  to  eat  when  I  had 
no  appetite. 

We  then  moved  to  the  buffalo  lick,  where  we  killed  several 
buffalo,  and  in  their  small  brass  kettles  they  made  about  half  a 
bushel  of  salt.  I  suppose  this  lick  was  about  thirty  or  forty 
miles  from  the  aforesaid  town,  and  somewhere  between  the 
Muskingum,  Ohio,  and  Sciota.  About  the  lick  was  clear, 
open  woods,  and  thin  white  oak  land,  and  at  that  time  there 
were  large  roads  leading  to  the  lick,  like  wagon  roads.  We 
moved  from  this  lick  about  six  or  seven  miles,  and  encamped 
on  a  creek. 

Though  the  Indians  had  given  me  a  gun,  I  had  not  yet  been 
admitted  to  go  out  from  the  camp  to  hunt.  At  this  place  Mo 
hawk  Solomon  asked  me  to  go  out  with  him  to  hunt,  which  I 
readily  agreed  to.  After  some  time  we  came  upon  some  fresh 
buffalo  tracks.  I  had  observed  before  this  that  the  Indians 
were  upon  their  guard,  and  afraid  of  an  enemy  ;  for,  until  now, 
they  and  the  southern  nations  had  been  at  war.  As  we  were 
following  the  buffalo  tracks,  Solomon  seemed  to  be  upon  his 
guard,  went  very  slow,  and  would  frequently  stand  and  listen, 
and  appeared  to  be  in  suspense.  We  came  to  where  the  tracks 
were  very  plain  in  the  sand,  and  I  said  it  is  surely  buffalo 
tracks  ;  he  said,  hush,  you  know  nothing,  may  be  buffalo  tracks^ 
may  be  Catawba.  He  went  very  cautious  until  we  found  some 
fresh  buffalo  dung ;  he  then  smiled,  and  said,  Catawba  cannot 
make  so.  He  then  stopped,  and  told  me  an  odd  story  about 
the  Catawbas.  He  said  that  formerly  the  Catawbas  came  near 
one  of  their  hunting  camps,  and  at  some  distance  from  the 
camp  lay  in  ambush  ;  and  in  order  to  decoy  them  out,  sent  two 
or  three  Catawbas  in  the  night  past  their  camp,  with  buffalo 
hoofs  fixed  on  their  feet,  so  as  to  make  artificial  tracks.  In  the 
morning,  those  in  the  camp  followed  after  these  tracks,  thinking 
they  were  buffalo,  until  they  were  fired  on  by  the  Catawbas, 
and  several  of  them  killed.  The  others  fled,  collected  a  party 
and  pursued  the  Catawbas ;  but  they,  in  their  subtilty,  brought 
with  them  rattlesnake  poison,  which  they  had  collected  from 
the  bladder  that  lieth  at  the  root  of  the  snake's  teeth ;  this  they 
had  corked  up  in  a  short  piece  of  a  cane-stalk.  They  had  also 
brought  with  them  small  cane  or  reed,  about  the  size  of  a  rye- 
straw,  which  they  made  sharp  at  the  end  like  a  pen,  and  dip 
ped  them  in  this  poison,  and  stuck  them  in  the  ground  among 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

the  grass,  along  their  own  tracks,  in  such  a  position  that  they 
might  stick  into  the  legs  of  the  pursuers,  which  answered  the 
design ;  and  as  the  Catawbas  had  runners  behind  to  Avatch  the 
motion  of  the  pursuers,  when  they  found  that  a  number  of  them 
were  lame,  being  artificially  snake  bit,  and  that  they  were  all 
turning  back,  the  Catawbas  turned  upon  the  pursuers,  and  de 
feated  them,  and  killed  and  scalped  all  those  that  were  lame. 
When  Solomon  had  finished  this  story,  and  found  that  I  un 
derstood  him,  he  concluded  by  saying,  you  don't  know,  Cataivba 
telly  bad  Indian,  Catawba  all  o?te  devil  Catawba. 

Some  time  after  this,  I  was  told  to  take  the  dogs  with  me. 
and  go  down  the  creek,  perhaps  I  might  kill  a  turkey  ;  it  being 
in  the  afternoon,  I  was  also  told  not  to  go  far  from  the  creek, 
and  to  come  up  the  creek  again  to  the  camp,  and  to  take  care 
not  to  get  lost.  When  I  had  gone  some  distance  down  the 
creek,  I  came  upon  fresh  buffalo  tracks,  and  as  I  had  a  number 
of  dogs  with  me  to  stop  the  buffalo,  I  concluded  I  would  follow 
after  and  kill  one ;  and  as  the  grass  and  weeds  were  rank,  I 
could  readily  follow  the  track.  A  little  before  sundown  I  des 
paired  of  coming  up  with  them.  I  was  then  thinking  how  I 
might  get  to  camp  before  night.  I  concluded,  as  the  buffalo  had 
made  several  turns,  if  I  Took  the  track  back  to  the  creek  it 
would  be  dark  before  I  could  get  to  camp;  therefore  I  thought 
I  would  take  a  near  way  through  the  hills,  and  strike  the  creek 
a  little  below  the  camp ;  but  as  it  was  cloudy  weather,  and  I 
a  very  young  woodsman,  I  could  find  neither  creek  nor  camp. 
When  night  came  on  I  fired  my  gun  several  times,  and  hal 
looed,  but  could  have  no  answer.  The  next  morning  early, 
the  Indians  were  out  after  me,  and  as  I  had  with  me  ten  o/a 
dozen  dogs,  and  the  grass  and  weeds  rank,  they  could  readily 
follow  my  track.  When  they  came  up  with  me,  they  appeare'd 
to  be  in  very  good  humor.  I  asked  Solomon  if  he  thought  I 
was  running  away ;  he  said,  no,  no,  you  go  too  much  clooked, 
On  my  return  to  camp  they  took  my  gun  from  me,  and  for  this 
rash  step  I  was  reduced  to  a  bow  and  arrows,  for  near  two 
years.  We  were  out  on  this  tour  for  about  six  weeks. 

This  country  is  generally  hilly,  though  intermixed  with 
considerable  quantities  of  rich  upland,  and  some  good  bottoms. 

When  we  returned  to  the  town,  Pluggy  and  his  party  had 
arrived,  and  brought  with  them  a  considerable  number  of  scalps 
and  prisoners  from  the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac  ;  they 
also  brought  with  them  an  English  Bible,  which  they  gave  to 
a  Dutch  woman  who  was  a  prisoner;  but  as  she  could  not 
read  English,  she  made  a  present  of  it  to  me,  which  was  very 
acce  ptable. 

I  remained  in  this  town  until  some  time  in  October,  when 


COLONEL  SMITH'S   CAPTIVITY.  101 

my  adopted  brother,  called  Tontileaugo,  who  had  married  a 
Wyandot  squaw,  took  me  with  him  to  lake  Erie.  We  pro 
ceeded  up  the  west  branch  of  Muskingum,  and  for  some  dis 
tance  up  the  river  the  land  was  hilly,  but  intermixed  with  largo 
bodies  of  tolerable  rich  upland,  and  excellent  bottoms.  We 
proceeded  on  to  the  head  waters  of  the  west  branch  of  Musk 
ingum.  On  the  head  waters  of  this  branch,  and  from  thence 
to  the  waters  of  Canesadooharie,  there  is  a  large  body  of  rich, 
well  lying  land ;  the  timber  is  ash,  walnut,  sugar-tree,  buckeye, 
honey-locust,  and  cherry,  intermixed  with  some  oak,  hickory, 
&c.  This  tour  was  at  the  time  that  the  black  haws  were  ripe, 
and  we  were  seldom  out  of  sight  of  them ;  they  were  common 
here  both  in  the  bottoms  and  upland. 

On  this  route  we  had  no  horses  with  us,  and  when  we  start 
ed  from  the  town  all  the  pack  I  carried  was  a  pouch  containing 
my  books,  a  little  dried  venison,  and  my  blanket.  I  had  then 
no  gun,  but  Tontileaugo,  who  was  a  first-rate  hunter,  carried  a 
rifle  gun,  and  every  day  killed  deer,  raccoons,  or  bears.  We 
left  the  meat,  excepting  a  little  for  present  use,  and  carried  the 
skins  with  us  until  we  encamped,  and  then  stretched  them  with 
elm  bark,  in  a  frame  made  with  poles  stuck  in  the  ground,  and 
tied  together  with  lynn  or  elm  bark ;  and  when  the  skins  were 
dried  by  the  fire,  we  packed  them  up  and  carried  them  with  us 
the  next  day. 

As  Tontileaugo  could  not  speak  English,  I  had  to  make  use 
of  all  the  Caughnewaga  I  had  learned,  even  to  talk  very  im 
perfectly  with  him ;  but  I  found  I  learned  to  talk  Indian  faster 
this  way  than  when  I  had  those  with  me  who  could  speak 
English. 

As  we  proceeded  down  the  Canesadooharie  waters,  our  packs 
increased  by  the  skins  that  were  daily  killed,  and  became  so 
very  heavy  that  we  could  not  march  more  than  eight  or  ten 
miles  per  day.  We  came  to  lake  Erie  about  six  miles  west  of 
the  mouth  of  Canesadooharie.  As  the  wind  was  very  high 
the  evening  we  came  to  the  lake,  I  was  surprised  to  hear  the 
roaring  o£the  water,  and  see  the  high  waves  that  dashed  against 
the  shore,  like  the  ocean.  We  encamped  on  a  run  near  the 
lake,  and  as  the  wind  fell  that  night,  the  next  morning  the  lake 
was  only  in  a  moderate  motion,  and  we  marched  on  the  sand 
along  the  side  of  the  water,  frequently  resting  ourselves,  as  we 
were  heavily  laden.  I  saw  on  the  sand  a  number  of  large  fish, 
that  had  been  left  in  flat  or  hollow  places ;  as  the  wind  fell  and 
the  waves  abated,  they  were  left  without  water,  or  only  a  small 
quantity;  and  numbers  of  bald  and  grey  eagles,  &c.,  were 
along  the  shore  devouring  them. 

Some  time  in  the  afternoon  we  came  to  a  large  camp  of 


192  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

Wyandots,  at  the  mouth  of  Canesadooharie,  where  Tantileau- 
go's  wife  was.  Here  we  were  kindly  received  ;  they  gave  us 
a  kind  of  rough,  brown  potatoes,  which  grew  spontaneously, 
and  were  called  by  the  Caughnewagas  ohnenata.  These  po 
tatoes  peeled  and  dipped  in  raccoon's  fat  taste  nearly  like  our 
sweet  potatoes.  They  also  gave  us  what  they  call  caneheanta, 
which  is  a  kind  of  homony,  made  of  green  corn,  dried,  and 
beans,  mixed  together. 

From  the  head  waters  of  Canesadooharie  to  this  place,  the 
land  is  generally  good ;  chiefly  first  or  second  rate,  and,  com 
paratively,  little  or  no  third  rate.  The  only  refuse  is  some 
swamps  that  appear  to  be  too  wet  for  use,  yet  I  apprehend  that 
a  number  of  them,  if  drained,  would  make  excellent  meadows. 
The  timber  is  black  oak,  walnut,  hickory,  cherry,  black  ash, 
white  ash,  water  ash,  buckeye,  black-locust,  honey-locust, 
sugar-tree,  and  elm.  There  is  also  some  land,  though  com 
paratively  but  small,  where  the  timber  is  chiefly  white  oak,  or 
beech ;  this  may  be  called  third  rate.  In  the  bottoms,  and  also 
many  places  in  the  upland,  there  is  a  large  quantity  of  wild 
apple,  plum,  and  red  and  black  haw  trees.  It  appeared  to  be 
well  watered,  and  a  plenty  of  meadow  ground,  intermixed  with 
upland,  but  no  large  prairies  or  glades  that  I  saw  or  heard  of. 
In  this  route  deer,  bear,  turkeys,  and  raccoons  appeared  plen 
ty,  but  no  buffalo,  and  very  little  sign  of  elks. 

We  continued  our  camp  at  the  mouth  of  Canesadooharie 
for  some  time,  where  we  killed  some  deer,  and  a  great  many 
raccoons  ;  the  raccoons  here  were  remarkably  large  and  fat. 
At  length  we  all  embarked  in  a  large  birch  bark  canoe.  This 
vessel  was  about  four  feet  wide,  and  three  feet  deep,  and  about 
five  and  thirty  feet  long ;  and  though  it  could  carry  a  heavy 
burden,  it  was  so  artfully  and  curiously  constructed,  that  four 
men  could  carry  it  several  miles,  or  from  one  landing  place  to 
another,  or  from  the  waters  of  the  lake  to  the  waters  of  the 
Ohio.  We  proceeded  up  Canesadooharie  a  few  miles,  and 
went  on  shore  to  hunt ;  but  to  my  great  surprise  they  carried 
the  vessel  we  all  came  in  up  the  bank,  and  inverted  it+or  turn 
ed  the  bottom  up,  and  converted  it  to  a  dwelling-house,  and 
kindled  a  fire  before  us  to  warm  ourselves  by  and  cook.  With 
our  baggage  and  ourselves  in  this  house  we  were  very  much 
crowded,  yet  our  little  house  turned  ofF  the  rain  very  well. 

We  kept  moving  and  hunting  up  this  river  until  we  came 
to  the  falls  ;  here  we  remained  some  weeks,  and  killed  a  num 
ber  of  deer,  several  bears,  and  a  great  many  raccoons.  From 
the  mouth  of  this  river  to  the  falls  is  about  five  and  twenty 
miles.  On  our  passage  up  I  was  not  much  out  from  the  river, 
but  what  I  saw  was  good  land,  and  not  hilly. 


\ 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  193 

About  the  falls  is  thin  chesnut  land,  which  is  almost  the 
only  chesnut  timber  I  ever  saw  in  this  country. 

While  we  remained  here  I  left  my  pouch  with  iny  books  in 
camp,  wrapt  up  in  my  blanket,  and  went  out  to  hunt  chesnuts. 
On  my  return  to  camp  my  books  were  missing.  I  inquired 
after  them,  and  asked  the  Indians  if  they  knew  where  they 
were ;  they  told  me  that  they  supposed  the  puppies  had  carried 
them  off.  I  did  not  believe  them,  but  thought  they  were  dis 
pleased  at  my  poring  over  my  books,  and  concluded  that  they 
had  destroyed  them,  or  put  them  out  of  my  way. 

After  this  I  was  again  out  after  nuts,  and  on  my  return 
beheld  a  new  erection,  composed  of  two  white  oak  saplings, 
that  were  forked  about  twelve  feet  high,  and  stood  about  fif 
teen  feet  apart.  They  had  cut  these  saplings  at  the  forks,  and 
laid  a  strong  pole  across,  which  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  gal 
lows,  and  the  poles  they  had  shaved  very  smooth,  and  painted 
in  places  with  vermillion.  I  could  not  conceive  the  use  of 
this  piece  of  work,  and  at  length  concluded  it  was  a  gallows. 
I  thought  that  I  had  displeased  them  by  reading  my  books,  and 
that  they  were  about  putting  me  to  death.  The  next  morning 
I  observed  them  bringing  their  skins  all  to  this  place,  and 
hanging  them  over  this  pole,  so  as  to  preserve  them  from  being 
injured  by  the  weather.  This  removed  my  fears.  They  also 
buried  their  large  canoe  in  the  ground,  which  is  the  way  they 
took  to  preserve  this  sort  of  a  canoe  in  the  winter  season. 

As  we  had  at  this  time  no  horse,  every  one  got  a  pack  on  his 
back,  and  we  steered  an  east  course  about  twelve  miles  and 
encamped.  The  next  'morning  we  proceeded  on  the  same 
course  about  ten  miles  to  a  large  creek  that  empties  into  lake 
Erie,  betwixt  Canesadooharie  and  Cayahaga.  Here  they  made 
their  winter  cabin  in  the  following  form  :  they  cut  logs  about 
fifteen  feet  long,  and  laid  these  logs  upon  each  other,  arid  drove 
posts  in  the  ground  at  each  end  to  keep  them  together ;  the 
posts  they  tied  together  at  the  top  with  bark,  and  by  this  means 
raised  a  wall  fifteen  feet  long,  and  about  four  feet  high,  and  in 
the  samefcjnanner  they  raised  another  wall  opposite  to  this,  at 
about  twelve  feet  distance  ;  then  they  drove  forks  in  the  ground 
in  the  centre  of  each  end,  and  laid  a  strong  pole  from  end  to 
end  on  these  forks ;  and  from  these  walls  to  the  poles,  they 
set  up  poles  instead  of  rafters,  and  on  these  they  tied  small 
poles  in  place  of  laths ;  and  a  cover  was  made  of  lynn  bark, 
which  will  run  even  in  the  winter  season. 

As  every  tree  will  not  run,  they  examine   the  tree  first,  by 

trying  it  near  the  ground,  and  when  they  find  it  will  do  they 

fell  the  tree,  and  raise   the  bark  with  the  tomahawk,  near  the 

top  of  the  tree,  about  five  or  six  inches  broad,  then  put  the 

13 


194  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

tomahawk  handle  under  this  bark,  and  pull  it  along  down  to 
the  butt  of  the  tree;  so  that  sometimes  one  piece  of  bark  will 
be  thirty  feet  long.  This  bark  they  cut  at  suitable  lengths  in 
order  to  cover  the  hat. 

At  the  end  of  these  walls  they  set  up  split  timber,  so  that 
they  had  timber  all  round,  excepting  a  door  at  each  end.  At 
the  top,  in  place  of  a  chimney,  they  left  an  open  place,  and  for 
bedding  they  laid  down  the  aforesaid  kind  of  bark,  on  which 
they  spread  bear-skins.  From  end  to  end  of  this  hut  along 
the  middle  there  were  fires,  which  the  squaws  made  of  Jry 
split  wood,  and  the  holes  or  open  places  that  appeared  the 
squaws  stopped  with  moss,  which  they  collected  from  old  logs; 
and  at  the  door  they  hung  a  bear-skin  ;  and  notwithstanding 
the  winters  are  hard  here,  our  lodging  was  much  better  than 
what  I  expected. 

It  was  some  time  in  December  when  we  finished  this  win 
ter  cabin  ;  but  when  we  had  got  into  this  comparatively  fine 
lodging,  another  difficulty  arose,  we  had  nothing  to  eat.  While 
I  was  travelling  with  Tontileaugo,  as  was  before  mentioned, 
and  had  plenty  of  fat  venison,  bear's  meat  and  raccoons,  I  then 
thought  it  was  hard  living  without  bread  or  salt ;  but  now  I 
began  to  conclude,  that  if  I  had  any  thing  that  would  banish 
pinching  hunger,  and  keep  soul  and  body  together,  I  would  be 
content. 

While  the  hunters  were  all  out,  exerting  themselves  to  the 
utmost  of  their  ability,  the  squaws  and  boys  (in  which  class  I 
was)  were  scattered  out  in  the  bottoms,  hunting  red  haws, 
black  haws  and  hickory  nuts.  As  it  was  too  late  in  the  year, 
we  did  not  succeed  in  gathering  haws ;  but  we  had  tolerable 
success  in  scratching  up  hickory  nuts  from  under  a  light  snow, 
which  we  carried  with  us  lest  the  hunters  should  not  succeed. 
After  our  return  the  hunters  came  in,  who  had  killed  only  two 
small  turkeys,  which  were  but  little  among  eight  hunters  and 
thirteen  squaws,  boys,  and  children ;  but  they  were  divided 
with  the  greatest  equity  and  justice — every  one  got  their  equal 
share. 

The  next  day  the  hunters  turned  out  again,  and  killed  one 
deer  and  three  bears. 

One  of  the  bears  was  very  large  and  remarkably  fat.  The 
hunters  carried  in  meat  sufficient  to  give  us  all  a  hearty  sup 
per  and  breakfast. 

The  squaws  and  all  that  could  carry  turned  out  to  bring  in 
meat, — every  one  had  their  share  assigned  them,  and  my  load 
was  among  the  least ;  yet,  not  being  accustomed  to  carrying 
.n  this  way,  I  got  exceeding  weary,  and  told  them  my  load 
was  too  heavy,  I  must  leave  part  of  it  and  come  for  it  again. 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  195 

They  made  a  halt  and  only  laughed  at  me,  and  took  part  of 
my  load  and  added  it  to  a  young  squaw's,  who  had  as  much 
before  as  I  carried. 

This  kind  of  reproof  had  a  greater  tendency  to  excite  me  to 
exert  myself  in  carrying  without  complaining  than  if  they  had 
whipped  me  for  laziness.  After  this  the  hunters  held  a  coun 
cil,  and  concluded  that  they  must  have  horses  to  carry  their 
loads ;  and  that  they  would  go  to  war  even  in  this  inclement 
season,  in  order  to  bring  in  horses. 

Tontileaugo  wished  to  be  one  of  those  who  should  go  to  war  ; 
but  the  votes  went  against  him,  as  he  was  one  of  our  best  hun 
ters  ;  it  was  thought  necessary  to  leave  him  at  this  winter 
camp  to  provide  for  the  squaws  and  children.  It  was  agreed 
upon  that  Tontileaugo  and  three  others  should  stay  and  hunt, 
and  the  other  four  go  to  war. 

They  then  began  to  go  through  their  common  ceremony. 
They  sung  their  war-songs,  danced  their  war-dances,  &c. 
And  when  they  were  equipped  they  went  off  singing  their 
marching  song,  and  firing  their  guns.  Our  camp  appeared  to 
be  rejoicing;  but  I  was  grieved  to  think  that  some  innocent 
persons  would  be  murdered,  not  thinking  of  danger. 

After  the  departure  of  these  warriors  we  had  hard  times ; 
and  though  we  were  not  altogether  out  of  provisions,  we  were 
brought  to  short  allowance.  At  length  Tontileaugo  had  con 
siderable  success,  and  we  had  meat  brought  into  camp  suffi 
cient  to  last  ten  days.  Tontileaugo  then  took  me  with  him  in 
order  to  encamp  some  distance  from  this  winter  cabin,  to  try 
his  luck  there.  We  carried  no  provisions  with  us  ;  he  said  he 
would  leave  what  was  there  for  the  squaws  and  children,  and 
that  we  could  shift  for  ourselves.  We  steered  about  a  south 
course  up  the  waters  of  this  creek,  and  encamped  about  ten  or 
twelve  miles  from  the  winter  cabin.  As  it  was  still  cold 
weather  and  a  crust  upon  the  snow,  which  made  a  noise  as 
we  walked,  and  alarmed  the  deer,  we  could  kill  nothing,  and 
consequently  went  to  sleep  without  supper.  The  only  chance 
we  had  under  these  circumstances  was  to  hunt  bear  holes  ;  as 
the  bears  about  Christmas  search  out  a  winter  lodging  place, 
where  they  lie  about  three  or  four  months  without  eating  or 
drinking.  This  may  appear  to  some  incredible ;  but  it  is  well 
known  to  be  the  case  by  those  who  live  in  the  remote  west 
ern  parts  of  North  America. 

The  next  morning  early  we  proceeded  on,  and  when  we 
found  a  tree  scratched  by  the  bears  climbing  up,  and  the  hole 
in  the  tree  sufficiently  large  for  the  reception  of  the  bear,  we 
then  felled  a  sapling  or  small  tree  against  or  near  the  hole ; 
and  it  was  my  business  to  climb  up  and  drive  out  the  bear 


196  COLONEL   SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

while  Tontileaugo  stood  ready  with  his  gun  and  bow.  We 
went  on  in  this  manner  until  evening,  without  success.  At 
length  we  found  a  large  elm  scratched,  and  a  hole  in  it  about 
forty  feet  up ;  but  no  tree  nigh,  suitable  to  lodge  against  the 
hole.  Tontileaugo  got  a  long  pole  and  some  dry  rotten  wood, 
which  he  tied  in  bunches,  with  bark ;  and  as  there  was  a  tree 
that  grew  near  the  elm,  and  extended  up  near  the  hole,  but 
leaned  the  wrong  way,  so  that  we  co\ild  not  lodge  it  to  advan 
tage,  to  remedy  this  inconvenience,  he  climbed  up  this  tree  and 
carried  with  him  his  rotten  wood,  fire  and  pole.  The  rotten 
wood  he  tied  to  his  belt,  and  to  one  end  of  the  pole  he  tied  a 
hook  and  a  piece  of  rotten  wood,  which  he  set  fire  to,  as  it 
would  retain  fire  almost  like  spunk,  and  reached  this  hook 
from  limb  to  limb  as  he  went  up.  When  he  got  up  with  his 
pole  he  put  dry  wood  on  fire  into  the  hole ;  after  he  put  in 
the  fire  he  heard  the  bear  snuff',  and  he  came  speedily  down, 
took  his  gun  in  his  hand,  and  waited  until  the  bear  would 
come  out;  but  it  was  some  time  before  it  appeared,  and  when 
it  did  appear  he  attempted  taking  sight  with  his  rifle  ;  but  it 
being  then  too  dark  to  see  the  sights,  he  set  it  down  by  a  tree, 
and  instantly  bent  his  bow,  took  hold  of  an  arrow,  and  shot 
the  bear  a  little  behind  the  shoulder.  I  was  preparing  also  to 
shoot  an  arrow,  but  he  called  to  me  to  stop,  there  was  no 
occasion  ;  and  with  that  the  bear  fell  to  the  ground. 

Being  very  hungry,  we  kindled  a  fire,  opened  the  bear,  took 
out  the  liver,  and  wrapped  some  of  the  caul  fat  round,  and  put 
it  on  a  wooden  spit,  which  we  stuck  in  the  ground  by  the  fire 
to  roast ;  then  we  skinned  the  bear,  got  on  our  kettle,  and  had 
both  roast  and  boiled,  and  also  sauce  to  our  meat,  which 
appeared  to  rne  to  be  delicate  fare.  After  I  was  fully  satisfied 
I  went  to  sleep ;  Tontileaugo  awoke  me,  saying,  come,  eat 
hearty,  we  have  got  meat  plenty  now. 

The  next  morning  we  cut  down  a  lynn  tree,  peeled  bark  and 
made  a  snug  little  shelter,  facing  the  south-east,  with  a  large 
log  betwixt  us  and  the  north-west ;  we  made  a  good  fire  before 
us,  and  scaffolded  up  our  meat  at  one  side.  When  we  had  fin 
ished  our  camp  we  went  out  to  hunt,  searched  two  trees  for 
bears,  but  to  no  purpose.  As  the  snow  thawed  a  little  in  the 
afternoon,  Tontileaugo  killed  a  deer,  which  we  carried  with  us 
to  camp. 

The  next  day  we  turned  out  to  hunt,  and  near  the  camp  we 
found  a  tree  well  scratched  ;  but  the  hole  was  above  forty  feet 
high,  and  no  tree  that  we  could  lodge  against  the  hole;  but 
rinding  that  it  was  very  hollow,  we  concluded  that  we  could 
cut  down  the  tree  with  our  tomahawks,  which  kept  us  work 
ing  a  considerable  part  of  the  day.  When  the  tree  fell  we 


COLONEL  SMITH'S    CAPTIVITY.  197 

ran  up,  Tontileaugo  with  his  gun  and  bow,  and  I  with  my  bow 
ready  bent.  Tontileaugo  shot  the  bear  through  with  his  rifle, 
a  little  behind  the  shoulders  ;  I  also  shot,  but  too  far  back ;  and 
not  being  then  much  accustomed  to  the  business,  my  arrow 
penetrated  only  a  few  inches  through  the  skin.  Having  killed 
an  old  she  bear  and  three  cubs,  we  hauled  her  on  the  snow  to 
the  camp,  and  only  had  time  afterwards  to  get  wood,  make  a 
fire,  cook,  &c.,  before  dark. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  went  to  business,  searched  seve 
ral  trees,  but  found  no  bears.  On  our  way  home  we  took 
three  raccoons  out  of  a  hollow  elm,  not  far  from  the  ground. 

We  remained  here  about  two  weeks,  and  in  this  time  killed 
four  bears,  three  deer,  several  turkeys  and  a  number  of  rac 
coons.  We  packed  up  as  much  meat  as  we  could  carry,  and 
returned  to  our  winter  cabin.  On  our  arrival  there  was  great 
joy,  as  they  were  all  in  a  starving  condition,  the  three  hunt 
ers  that  we  had  left  having  killed  but  very  little.  All  that 
could  carry  a  pack,  repaired  to  our  camp  to  bring  in  meat. 

Some  time  in  February  the  four  warriors  returned,  who  had 
taken  two  scalps  and  six  horses  from  the  frontiers  of  Pennsyl 
vania.  The  hunters  could  then  scatter  out  a  considerable  dis 
tance  from  the  winter  cabin  and  encamp,  kill  meat,  and  bring 
it  in  upon  horses  ;  so  that  jve  commonly  after  this  had  plenty 
of  provision. 

In  this  month  we  began  to  make  sugar.  As  some  of  the 
elm  bark  will  strip  at  this  season,  the  squaws,  after  finding  a 
tree  that  would  do,  cut  it  down,  and  with  a  crooked  stick,  broad 
and  sharp  at  the  end,  took  the  bark  off  the  tree,  and  of  this 
bark  made  vessels  in  a  curious  manner,  that  would  hold  about 
two  gallons  each :  they  made  above  one  hundred  of  these  kind 
of  vessels,  In  the  sugar  tree  they  cut  a  notch,  sloping  down, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  notch  stuck  in  a  tomahawk ;  in  the  place 
where  they  stuck  the  tomahawk  they  drove  a  long  chip,  in 
order  to  carry  the  water  out  from  the  tree,  and  under  this  they 
set  their  vessel  to  receive  it.  As  sugar  trees  were  plenty  and 
large  here,  they  seldom  or  never  notched  a  tree  that  was  not 
two  or  three  feet  over.  They  also  made  bark  vessels  for  car 
rying  the  water,  that  would  hold  about  four  gallons  each. 
They  had  two  brass  kettles,  that  held  about  fifteen  gallons 
each,  and  other  smaller  kettles  in  which  they  boiled  the  water. 
But  as  they  could  not  at  times  boil  away  the  water  as  fast  as 
it  was  collected,  they  made  vessels  of  bark,  that  would  hold 
about  one  hundred  gallons  each,  for  retaining  the  water ;  and 
though  the  sugar  trees  did  not  run  every  day,  they  had  always 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  to  keep  them  boiling  during  the 
whole  sugar  season. 

17* 


198  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

The  way  we  commonly  used  our  sugar  while  encamped  was 
by  putting  it  in  bear's  fat  until  the  fat  was  almost  as  sweet  as 
the  sugar  itself,  and  in  this  we  dipped  our  roasted  venison. 
About  this  time  some  of  the  Indian  lads  and  myself  were  em 
ployed  in  making  and  attending  traps  for  catching  raccoons, 
foxes,  wildcats,  &c. 

As  the  raccoon  is  a  kind  of  water  animal,  that -frequents  the 
runs,  or  small  water  courses,  almost  the  whole  night,  we  made 
our  traps  on  the  runs,  by  laying  one  small  sapling  on  another, 
and  driving  in  posts  to  keep  them  from  rolling.  The  under 
sapling  we  raised  about  eighteen  inches,  and  set  so  that  on 
the  raccoon's  touching  a  string,  or  a  small  piece  of  bark,  the 
sapling  would  fall  and  kill  it;  and  lest  the  raccoon  should  pass 
by,  we  laid  brush  on  both  sides  of  the  run,  only  leaving  the 
channel  ^open. 

The  fox  traps  we  made  nearly  in  the  same  manner,  at  the 
end  of  a  hollow  log,  or  opposite  to  a  hole  at  the  root  of  a  hol 
low  tree,  and  put  venison  on  a  stick  for  bait ;  we  had  it  so  set 
that  when  the  fox  took  hold  of  the  meat  the  trap  fell.  While 
the  squaws  were  employed  in  making  sugar,  the  boys  and  men 
were  engaged  in  hunting  and  trapping. 

About  the  latter  end  of  March,  we  began  to  prepare  for 
moving  into  town,  in  order  to  plant  corn.  The  squaws  were 
then  frying  the  last  of  their  bear's  *  fat,  and  making  vessels  to 
hold  it:  the  vessels  were  made  of  deer-skins,  which  were 
skinned  by  pulling  the  skin  off  the  neck,  without  ripping. 
After  they  had  taken  off  the  hair,  they  gathered  it  in  small 
plaits  round  the  neck  and  with  a  string  drew  it  together  like  a 
purse ;  in  the  centre  a  pin  was  put,  below  which  they  tied  a 
string,  and  while  it  was  wet  they  blew  it  up  like  a  bladder, 
and  let  it  remain  in  this  manner  until  it  was  dry,  when  it  ap 
peared  nearly  in  the  shape  of  a  sugar  loaf,  but  more  rounding 
at  the  lower  end.  One  of  these  vessels  would  hold  about  four 
or  five  gallons.  In  these  vessels  it  was  they  carried  their  bear's 
oil. 

When  all  things  were  ready,  we  moved  back  to  the  falls  of 
Canesadooharie.  In  this  route  the  land  is  chiefly  first  and 
second  rate ;  but  too  much  meadow  ground,  in  proportion  to 
the  upland.  The  timber  is  white  ash,  elm,  black  oak,  cherry, 
buckeye,  sugar  tree,  lynn,  mulberry,  beech,  white  oak,  hick 
ory,  wild  apple  tree,  red  haw,  black  haw,  and  spicewood  bushes. 
There  is  in  some  places  spots  of  beech  timber,  which  spots 
may  be  called  third  rate  land.  Buckeye,  sugar  tree  and  spice- 
wood  are  common  in  the  woods  here.  There  is  in  some 
places  large  swamps  too  wet  for  any  use. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  falls,  (as  we  had  brought  with  us  on 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  199 

horseback  about  two  hundred  weight  of  sugar,  a  large  quan 
tity  of  bear's  oil,  skins,  &c.,)  the  canoe  we  had  buried  was 
not  sufficient  to  carry  all ;  therefore  we  were  obliged  to  make 
another  one  of  elm  bark.  While  we  lay  here,  a  young  Wy- 
andot  found  my  books.  On  this  they  collected  together  ;  I  was 
a  little  way  from  the  camp,  and  saw  the  collection,  but  did  not 
know  what  it  meant.  They  called  me  by  my  Indian  name, 
which  was  Scoouwa,  repeatedly.  I  ran  to  see  what  was  the 
matter  ;  they  showed  me  my  books,  and  said  they  were  glad 
they  had  been  found,  for  they  knew  I  was  grieved  at  the  loss 
of  tnem,  and  that  they  now  rejoiced  with  me  because  they 
were  found.  As  I  could  then  speak  some  Indian,  especially 
Caughnewaga,  (for  both  that  and  the  Wyandot  tongue  were 
spoken  in  this  camp,)  I  told  them  that  I  thanked  them  for  the 
kindness  they  had  always  shown  to  me,  and  also  for  finding 
my  books.  They  asked  if  the  books  were  damaged.  I  told 
them  not  much.  They  then  showed  how  they  lay,  which  was 
in  the  best  manner  to  turn  off  the  water.  In  a  deer-skin  pouch 
they  lay  all  winter.  The  print  was  not  much  injured,  though 
the  binding  was.  This  was  the  first  time  that  I  felt  my  heart 
warm  towards  the  Indians.  Though  they  had  been  exceed 
ingly  kind  to  me,  I  still  before  detested  them,  on  account  of 
the  barbarity  I  beheld  after  Braddock's  defeat.  Neither  had  I 
ever  before  pretended  kindness,  or  expressed  myself  in  a 
friendly  manner ;  but  I  began  now  to  excuse  the  Indians  on 
account  of  their  want  of  information. 

When  we  were  ready  to 'embark,  Tontileaugo  would  not  go 
to-town,  but  go  up  the  river,  and  take  a  hunt.  He  asked  me 
if  I  choosed  to  go  with  him.  I  told  him  I  did.  We  then  got 
some  sugar,  bear's  oil  bottled  up  in  a  bear's  gut,  and  some  dry 
venison,  which  we  packed  up,  and  went  up  Canesadooharie, 
about  thirty  miles,  and  encamped.  At  this  time  I  did  not 
know  either  the  day  of  the  week  or  the  month ;  but  I  sup 
posed  it  to  be  about  the  first  of  April.  We  had  considerable 
success  in  our  business.  We  also  found  some  stray  horses,  or 
a  horse,  mare,  and  a  young  colt ;  and  though  they  had  run  in 
the  woods  all  winter,  they  were  in  exceeding  good  order. 
There  is  plenty  of  grass  here  all  winter,  under  the  snow,  and 
horses  accustomed  to  the  woods  can  work  it  out.  These  horses 
had  run  in  the  woods  until  they  were  very  wild. 

Tontileaugo  one  night  concluded  that  we  must  run  them 
down.  I  told  him  I  thought  we  could  not  accomplish  it.  He 
said  he  had  run  down  bears,  buffaloes,  and  elks ;  and  in  the 
great  plains,  with  only  a  small  snow  on  the  ground,  he  had  run 
down  a  deer  ;  and  he  thought  that  in  one  whole  day  he  could 
tire  or  run  down  any  four-footed  animal  except  a  wolf.  I  told 


200  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

him  that  though  a  deer  was  the  swiftest  animal  to  run  a  short 
distance,  yet  it  would  tire  sooner  than  a  horse.  He  said  he 
would  at  all  events  try  the  experiment.  He  had  heard  the 
Wyandots  say  that  I  could  run  well,  and  now  he  would  see 
whether  I  could  or  not.  I  told  him  that  I  never  had  run  all 
day,  and  of  course  was  not  accustomed  to  that  way  of  running. 
I  never  had  run  with  the  Wyandots  more  than  seven  or  eight 
miles  at  one  time.  He  said  that  was  nothing,  we  must  either 
catch  these  horses  or  run  all  day. 

In  the  morning  early  we  left  camp,  and  about  sunrise  we 
started  after  them,  stripped  naked  excepting  breech-clouts  and 
moccasins.  About  ten  o'clock  I  lost  sight  of  both  Tontileaugo 
and  the  horses,  and  did  not  see  them  again  until  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  As  the  horses  run  all  day  in  about 
three  or  four  miles  square,  at  length  they  passed  where  I  was, 
and  I  fell  in  close  after  them.  As  i  men  had  a  long  rest.  I 
endeavored  to  keep  ahead  of  Tontileaugo,  and  after  some  time 
1  could  hear  him  after  me  calling  chakoh,  chakoanaugh,  which 
signifies,  pull  away  or  do  your  best.  We  pursued  on,  and  after 
some  time  Tontileaugo  passed  me,  and  about  an  hour  before 
sundown  we  despaired  of  catching  these  horses,  and  returned 
to  camp,  where  we  had  left  our  clothes. 

I  reminded  Tontileaugo  of  what  I  had  told  him ;  he  replied 
he  did  not  know  what  horses  could  do.  They  are  wonderful 
stir ong  to  run ;  but  withal  we  made  them  very  tired.  Tonti 
leaugo  then  concluded  he  would  do  as  the  Indians  did  with 
wild  horses  when  out  at  war :  which  is  to  shoot  them  through 
the  neck  under  the  mane,  and  above  the  bone,  which  will 
cause  them  to  fall  and  lie  until  they  can  halter  them,  and  then 
they  recover  again.  This  he  attempted  to  do ;  but  as  the 
mare  was  very  wild,  he  could  not  get  sufficiently  nigh  to  shoot 
her  in  the  proper  place ;  however,  he  shot,  the  ball  passed  too 
low,  and  killed  her.  As  the  horse  and  colt  stayed  at  this 
place,  we  caught  the  horse,  and  took  him  and  the  colt  with  us 
to  camp. 

We  stayed  at  this  camp  about  two  weeks,  and  killed  a  num 
ber  of  bears,  raccoons,  and  some  beavers.  We  made  a  canoe 
of  elm  bark,  and  Tontileaugo  embarked  in  it.  He  arrived  at 
the  falls  that  night ;  whilst  I,  mounted  on  horseback,  with  a 
bear-skin  saddle  and  bark  stirrups,  proceeded  by  land  to  the 
falls.  I  came  there  the  next  morning,  and  we  carried  our 
canoe  and  loading  past  the  falls. 

The  river  is  very  rapid  for  some  distance  above  the  falls, 
which  are  about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  nearly  perpendicular. 
This  river,  called  Canesadooharie,  interlocks  with  the  West 
Branch  of  Muskingum,  runs  nearly  a  north  course,  and  emp- 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  201 

ties  into  the  south  side  of  lake  Erie,  about  eight  miles  east 
from  Sandusky,  or  betwixt  Sandusky  and  Cayahaga. 

On  this  last  route  the  land  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  last 
described,  only  there  is  not  so  much  swampy  or  wet  ground. 

We  again  proceeded  towards  the  lake,  I  on  horseback,  and 
Tontileaugo  by  water.  Here  the  land  is  generally  good,  but 
I  found  some  difficulty  in  getting  round  swamps  and  ponds. 
When  we  came  to  the  lake,  I  proceeded  along  the  strand,  and 
Tontileaugo  near  the  shore,  sometimes  paddling,  and  some 
times  poleing  his  canoe  along. 

After  some  time  the  wind  arose,  and  he  went  into  the  mouth 
of  a  small  creek  and  encamped.  Here  we  staid  several  days 
on  account  of  high  wind,  which  raised  the  lake  in  great  bil 
lows.  While  we  were  here,  Tontileaugo  went  out  to  hunt, 
and  when  he  was  gone  a  Wyandot  came  to  our  camp ;  I  gave 
him  a  shoulder  of  venison  which  I  had  by  the  fire  well  roasted, 
and  he  received  it  gladly,  told  me  he  was  hungry,  and  thanked 
me  for  my  kindness.  When  Tontileaugo  came  home,  I  told 
him  that  a  Wyandot  had  been  at  camp,  and  that  I  gave  him  a 
shoulder  of  roasted  venison ;  he  said  that  was  very  well,  and 
I  suppose  you  gave  him  also  sugar  and  bear's  oil  to  eat  with 
his  venison.  I  told  him  I  did  not ;  as  the  sugar  and  bear's  oil 
was  down  in  the  canoe  I  did  not  go  for  it.  He  replied,  you 
have  behaved  just  like  a  Dutchman.^  Do  you  not  know  that 
when  strangers  come  to  our  camp  we  ought  always  to  give 
them  the  best  that  we  have  ?  I  acknowledged  that  I  was  wrong. 
He  said  that  he  could  excuse  this,  as  I  was  but  young ;  but  I 
must  learn  to  behave  like  a  warrior,  and  do  great  things,  and 
never  be  found  in  any  such  little  actions. 

The  lake  being  again  calm,t  we  proceeded,  and  arrived  safe 
at  Sunyendeand,  which  was  a  Wyandot  town  that  lay  upon  a 
small  creek  which  empties  into  the  little  lake  below  the  mouth 
of  Sandusky. 

The  town  was  about  eighty  rood  above  the  mouth  of  the 
creek,  on  the  south  side  of  a  large  plain,  on  which  timber 
grew,  and  nothing  more  but  grass  or  nettles.  In  some  places 
there  were  large  flats  where  nothing  but  grass  grew,  about 
three  feet  high  when  grown,  and  in  other  places  nothing  but 
nettles,  very  rank,  where  the  soil  is  extremely  rich  and  loose ; 
here  they  planted  corn.  In  this  town  there  were  also  French 
traders,  who  purchased  our  skins  and  fur,  and  we  all  got  new 
clothes,  paint,  tobacco,  &c. 

*  The  Dutch  he  called  Skoharehaugo,  which  look  its  derivation  from  a 
Dutch  settlement  called  Skoharey. 

f  The  lake,  when  calm,  appears  to  be  of  a  sky-blue  color ;  though  when 
lifted  in  a  vessel  it  is  like  other  clear  water. 


33 


202  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

After  I  had  got  my  new  clothes,  and  my  head  done  off  like 
a  red-headed  woodpecker,  I,  in  company  with  a  number  of 
young  Indians,  went  down  to  the  corn-field  to  see  the  squaws 
at  work.  When  we  came  there  they  asked  me  to  take  a  hoe, 
which  I  did,  and  hoed  for  some  time.  The  squaws  applauded 
me  as  a  good  hand  at  the  business ;  hut  when  I  returned  to 
the  town  the  old  men,  hearing  of  what  I  had  done,  chid  me,  and 
said  that  I  was  adopted  in  the  place  of  a  great  man,  and  must 
not  hoe  corn  like  a  squaw.  They  never  had  occasion  to 
reprove  me  for  any  thing  like  this  again  ;  as  I  never  was 
extremely  fond  of  work,  I  readily  complied  with  their  orders. 

As  the  Indians  on  their  return  from  their  winter  hunt  bring 
in  with  them  large  quantities  of  bear's  oil,  sugar,  dried  veni 
son,  &c.,  at  this  time  they  have  plenty,  and  do  not  spare  eating 
or  giving;  thus  they  make  way  with  their  provision  as  quick 
as  possible.  They  have  no  such  thing  as  regular  meals, 
breakfast,  dinner,  or  supper  ;  but  if  any  one,  even  the  town 
folks,  would  go  to  the  same  house  several  times  in  one  day, 
he  would  be  invited  to  eat  of  the  best ;  and  with  them  it  is  bad 
manners  to  refuse  to  eat  when  it  is  offered.  If  they  will  not 
eat  -it  is  interpreted  as  a  symptom  of  displeasure,  or  that  the 
persons  refusing  to  eat  were  angry  with  those  who  invited 
them. 

At  this  time  homony,  plentifully  mixed  with  bear's  oil  and 
sugar,  or  dried  venison,  bear's  oil,  and  sugar,  is  what  they  offer 
to  every  one  who  comes  in  any  time  of  the  day  ;  and  so  they 
go  on  until  their  sugar,  bear's  oil,  and  venison  are  all  gone, 
and  then  they  have  to  eat  homony  by  itself,  without  bread, 
salt,  or  any  thing  else;  yet  still  they  invite  every  one  that 
comes  in  to  eat  whilst  they  have  any  thing  to  give.  It  is 
thought  a  shame  not  to  invite  people  to  eat  while  they  have 
any  thing ;  but  if  they  can  in  truth  only  say  we  have  got 
nothing  to  eat,  this  is  accepted  as  an  honorable  apology.  All 
the  hunters  and  warriors  continued  in  town  about  six  weeks 
after  we  came  in  ;  they  spent  this  time  in  painting,  going  from 
house  to  house,  eating,  smoking,  and  playing  at  a  game  resem 
bling  dice,  or  hustle-cap.  They  put  a  number  of  plum-stones 
in  a  small  bowl ;  one  side  of  each  stone  is  black,  and  the  other 
white;  they  then  shake  or  hustle  the  bowl,  calling,  kits,  hits, 
hits,  honesey,  honesey,  rago,  rago ;  which  signifies  calling  for 
white  or  black,  or  what  they  wish  to  turn  up ;  they  then  turn 
the  bowl,  and  count  the  whites  and  blacks.  Some  were  beat* 
ing  their  kind  of  drum  and  singing ;  others  were  employed  in 
playing  on  a  sort  of  flute  made  of  hollow  cane ;  and  others 
playing  on  the  jew's-harp.  Some  part  of  this  lime  was  also 
akon  up  in  attending  the  council  house,  where  the  chiefs,  and 


CuLUlSEL  SMITH'S   CAPTIVITY.  203 

as  many  others  as  chose,  attended ;  and  at  night  they  were 
frequently  employed  in  singing  and  dancing.  Towards  the 
last*  of  this  time,  which  was  in  June,  1756,  they  were  all  en 
gaged  in  preparing  to  go  to  war  against  the  frontiers  of  Vir 
ginia.  When  they  were  equipped,  they  went  through  their 
ceremonies,  sung  their  war-songs,  &c.  They  all  marched  ofl£ 
from  fifteen  to  sixty  years  of  age ;  and  some  boys,  only  twelve 
years  old,  were  equipped  with  their  hows  and  arrows,  and 
went«to  war ;  so  that  none  were  left  in  town  but  squaws  and 
children,  except  myself,  one  very  old  man,  and  another,' about 
fifty  years  of  age,  who  was  lame. 

The  Indians  were  then  in  great  hopes  that  they  would  drive 
all  the  Virginians  over  the  lake,  which  is  all  the  name  they 
know  for  the  sea.  They  had  some  cause  for  this  hope,  be 
cause,  at  this  time,  the  Americans  were  altogether  unac 
quainted  with  war  of  any  kind,  and  consequently  very  unfit  to 
stand  their  hand  with  such  subtle  enemi-es  as  the  Indians  were. 
The  two  old  Indians  asked  me  if  I  did  not  think  that  the 
Indians  and  French  would  subdue  all  America,  except  New 
England,  which  they  said  they  had  tried  in  old  times.  I  told 
them  I  thought  not.  They  said  they  had  already  drove  them 
all  out  of  the  mountains,  and  had  chiefly  laid  waste  the  great 
valley  betwixt  the  North  and  South  mountain,  from  Potomac 
to  James  river,  which  is  a  considerable  part  of  the  best  land 
in  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania,  and  that  the  white 
people  appeared  to  them  like  fools  ;  they  could  neither  guard 
against  surprise,  run,  nor  fight.  These,  they  said,  were  their 
reasons  for  saying  that  they  would  subdue  the  whites.  They 
asked  me  to  offer  my  reasons  for  my  opinion,  and  told  me  to 
speak  my  mind  freely.  I  told  them  that  the  white  people  to 
the  east  were  very  numerous,  like  the  trees,  and  though  they 
appeared  to  them  to  be  fools,  as  they  were  not  acquainted  with 
their  way  of  war,  yet  they  were  not  fools ;  therefore,  after  some 
time,  they  will  learn  your  mode  of  war,  and  turn  upon  you,  or 
at  least  defend  themselves.  I  found  that  the  old  men  them 
selves  did  not  believe  they  could  conquer  America,  yet  they 
were  willing  to  propagate  the  idea  in  order  to  encourage  the 
young  men  to  go  to  war. 

When  the  warriors  left  this  town,  we  had  neither  meat, 
sugar,  or  bear's  oil  left.  All  that  we  had  then  to  live  on  was 
corn  pounded  into  coarse  meal  or  small  homony ;  this  they 
boiled  in  water,  which  appeared  like  well  thickened  soup, 
without  salt  or  any  thing  else.  For  some  time  we  had  plenty 
of  this  kind  of  homony  ;  at  length  we  were  brought  to  very- 
short  allowance,  and  as  the  warriors  did  not  return  as  soon  as 
they  expected,  we  were  in  a  starving  condition,  and  but  one 


204  COLONEL   SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

gun  in  the  town,  and  very  little  ammunition.  The  old  lame 
Wyandot  concluded  that  he  would  go  a  hunting  in  a  canoe, 
and  take  me  with  him,  and  try  to  kill  deer  in  the  water,  as  it 
was  then  watering  time.  We  went  up  Sandusky  a  few  miles, 
then  turned  up  a  creek  and  encamped.  We  had  lights  pre 
pared,  as  we  were  to  hunt  in  the  night,  and  also  a  piece  of 
bark  and  some  bushes  set  up  in  the  canoe,  in  order  to  conceal 
ourselves  from  the  deer.  A  little  boy  that  was  with  us  held 
the  light ;  I  worked  the  canoe,  and  the  old  man,  who  had  his 
gun  loaded  with  large  shot,  when  we  came  near  the  deer,  fired, 
and  in  this  manner  killed  three  deer  in  part  of  one  night.  We 
went  to  our  fire,  ate  heartily,  and  in  the  morning  returned  to 
town  in  order  to  relieve  the  hungry  and  distressed. 

When  we  came  to  town  the  children  were  crying  bitterly  on 
account  of  pinching  hunger.  We  delivered  what  we  had  taken, 
and  though  it  was  but  little  among  so  many,  it  was  divided 
according  to  the  strictest  rules  of  justice.  We  immediately  set 
out  for  another  hunt,  but  before  we  returned  a  part  of  the  war 
riors  had  come  in,  and  brought  with  them  on  horseback  a 
quantity  of  meat.  These  warriors  had  divided  into  different 
parties,  and  all  struck  at  different  places  in  Augusta  county. 
They  brought  in  with  them  a  considerable  number  of  scalps, 
prisoners,  horses,  and  other  plunder.  One  of  the  parties 
brought  in  with  them  one  Arthur  Campbell,  that  is  now  Colo 
nel  Campbell,  who  lives  on  Holston  river,  near  the  Royal 
Oak.  As  the  Wyandots  at  Sunyendeand  and  those  at  De 
troit  were  connected,  Mr.  Campbell  was  taken  to  Detroit; 
but  he  remained  some  time  with  me  in  this  town.  His  com 
pany  was  very  agreeable,  and  I  was  sorry  when  he  left  me. 
During  his  stay  at  Sunyendeand  he  borrowed  my  Bible,  and 
made  some  pertinent  remarks  on  what  he  had  read.  One 
passage  was  where  it  is  said,  "  It  is  good  for  man  that  he 
bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth."  He  said  we  ought  to  be  re 
signed  to  the  will  of  Providence,  as  we  were  now  bearing 
the  yoke  in  our  youth.  Mr.  Campbell  appeared  to  be  then 
about  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age. 

There  was  a  number  of  prisoners  brought  in  by  these 
parties,  and  when  they  were  to  run  the  gauntlet  I  went  and 
told  them  how  they  were  to  act.  One  John  Savage  was 
brought  in,  a  middle-aged  man,  or  about  forty  years  old.  He 
was  to  run  the  gauntlet.  I  told  him  what  he  had  to  do ;  and 
after  this  I  fell  into  one  of  the  ranks  with  the  Indians,  shouting 
and  yelling  like  them ;  and  as  they  were  not  very  severe  on 
him,  as  he  passed  me,  I  hit  him  with  a  piece  of  pumpkin, 
which  pleased  the  Indians  much,  but  hurt  my  feelings. 

About  the  time  that  these  warriors  came  in,  the  green  corn 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  205 

was  beginning  to  be  of  use,  so  that  we  had  either  green  corn 
or  venison,  and  sometimes  both,  which  was,  comparatively, 
high  living.  When  we  could  have  plenty  of  green  corn,  or 
roasting  ears,  the  hunters  became  lazy,  and  spent  their  time, 
as  already  mentioned,  in  singing  and  dancing,  &c.  They  ap 
peared  to  be  fulfilling  the  scriptures  beyond  those  who  profess 
to  believe  them,  in  that  of  taking  no  thought  of  to-morrow; 
and  also  in  living  in  love,  peace,  and  friendship  together, 
without  disputes.  In  this  respect  they  shame  those  who  pro 
fess  Christianity. 

In  this  manner  we  lived  until  October;  then  the  ge^ese, 
swans,  ducks,  crai.js,  &c.,  came  from  the  north,  and  alighted 
on  this  little  Jake,  without  number,  or  innumerable.  Sunyen- 
deand  is  a  remarkable  place  for  fish  in  the  spring,  and  ifowl 
both  in  the  fall  and  spring. 

As  our  hunters  were  now  tired  with  indolence,  and  fond  of 
their  own  kind  of  exercise,  they  all  turned  out  to  fowling,  and 
in  thia  could  scarce  miss  of  success ;  so  that  we  had  now 
plenty  of  homony  and  the  best  of  fowls ;  and  sometimes,  as  a 
rarity,  we  had  a  little  bread,  which  was  made  of  Indian  com 
meal,  pounded  in  a  homony  block,  mixed  with  boiled  beans, 
and  baked  in  cakes  under  the  ashes. 

This  with  us  was  called  good  living,  though  not  equal  to  our 
fat,  roasted,  and  boiled  venison,  when  we  went  to  the  woods 
in  the  fall ;  or  bear's  meat  and  beaver  in  the  winter ;  or  sugar, 
bear's  oil,  and  dry  venison  in  the  spring. 

Some  time  in  October,  another  adopted  brother,  older  than 
Tontileaugo,  came  to  pay  us  a  visit  at  Sunyendeand,  and  he 
asked  me  to  take  a  hunt  with  him  on  Cayahaga.  As  they 
always  used  me  as  a  free  man,  and  gave  me  the  liberty  of 
choosing,  I  told  him  that  I  was  attached  to  Tontileaugo,  had 
never  seen  him  before,  and  therefore  asked  some  time  to  con 
sider  of  this.  He  told  me  that  the  party  he  was  going  with 
would  not  be  along,  or  at  the  mouth  of  this  little  lake,  in  less 
than  six  days,  and  I  could  in  this  time  be  acquainted  with 
him,  and  judge  for  myself.  I  consulted  with  Tontileaugo  on 
this  occasion,  and  he  told  me  that  our  old  brother  Tecaugh- 
retanego  (which  was  his  name)  was  a  chief,  and  a  better  man 
than  he  was,  and  if  I  went  with  him  I  might  expect  to  be 
well  used ;  but  he  said  I  might  do  as  I  pleased,  and  if  I  staid 
he  would  use  me  as  he  had  done.  I  told  him  that  he  had 
acted  in  every  respect  as  a  brother  to  me ;  yet  I  was  much 
pleased  with  my  old  brother's  conduct  and  conversation ;  and 
as  he  was  going  to  a  part  of  the  country  I  had  never  been 
in,  I  wished  to  go  with  him.  He  said  that  he  was  perfectly 
willing. 

18 


£06  COLONEL   SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

I  then  went  with  Tecaughretanego  to  the  mouth  of  the 
little  lake,  where  he  met  with  the  company  he  intended  going 
with,  which  was  composed  of  Caughnewagas  and  Ottawas, 
Here  I  was  introduced  to  a  Caughnewaga  sister,  and  others 
I  had  never  before  seen.  My  sister's  name  was  Mary,  which 
they  pronounced  Maully.  I  asked  Tecauo-hretanego  how  it 
came  that  she  had  an  English  name.  He  said  that  he  did  not 
know  that  it  was  an  English  name ;  but  it  was  the  name  the 
priest  gave  her  when  she  was  baptized,  which  he  said  was 
the  name  of  the  mother  of  Jesus.  He  said  there  were  a  great 
many  of  the  Caughnewagas  and  Wyandots  that  were  a  kind 
of  half  Roman  Catholics;  but  as  for  himself,  he  said,  that 
the  priest  and  him  could  not  agree,  as  they  held  notions  that 
contradicted  both  sense  and  reason,  and  had  the  assurance  to 
tell  him  that  the  book  of  God  taught  them  these  foolish  ab 
surdities  :  but  he  could  not  believe  the  great  and  good  Spirit 
ever  taught  them  any  such  nonsense ;  and  therefore  he  con 
cluded  that  the  Indians'  old  religion  was  better  than  this  new 
way  of  worshipping  God. 

The  Ottavvas  have  a  very  useful  kind  of  tents  which  they 
carry  with  them,  made  of  flags,  plaited  and  stitched  together 
in  a  very  artful  manner,  so  as  to  turn  rain  or  wind  well — each 
mat  is  made  fifteen  feet  long,  and  about  five  feet  broad.  In 
order  to  erect  this  kind  of  tent,  they  cut  a  number  of  long 
straight  poles,  which  they  drive  in  the  ground,  in  form  of  a 
circle,  leaning  inwards ;  then  they  spread  the  mats  on  these 
poles,  beginning  at  the  bottom  and  extending  up,  leaving 
only  a  hole  in  the  top  uncovered,  and  this  hole  answers  the 
place  of  a  chimney.  They  make  a  fire  of  dry  split  wood  in 
the  middle,  and  spread  down  bark  mats  and  skins  for  bedding, 
on  which  they  sleep  in  a  crooked  posture  all  round  the  fire, 
as  the'  length  of  their  beds  will  not  admit  of  stretching  them 
selves.  In  place  of  a  door  they  lift  up  one  end  of  a  mat  and 
creep  in,  and  let  the  mat  fall  down  behind  them. 

These  tents  are  warm  and  dry,  and  tolerably  clear  of  smoke. 
Their  lumber  they  keep  under  birch-bark  canoes,  which  they 
carry  out  and  turn  up  for  a  shelter,  where  they  keep  every 
thing  from  the  rain.  Nothing- is  in  the  tents  but  themselves 
and  their  bedding. 

This  company  had  four  birch  canoes  and  four  tents.  AVe 
were  kindly  received,  and  they  gave  us  plenty  of  homony, 
and  wild  fowl  boiled  and  roasted.  As  the  geese,  ducks, 
swans,  &c.,  here  are  well  grain-fed,  they  were  remarkably 
fat,  especially  the  green-necked  ducks. 

The  wild  fowl  here  feed  upon  a  kind  of   wild   rice   that 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  207 

grows  spontaneously  in  the  shallow  water,  or  wet  places  along 
the  sides  or  in  the  corners  of  the  lakes. 

As  the  wind  was  high  and  we  could  not  proceed  on  our 
voyage,  we  remained  here  several  days,  and  killed  abundance 
of  wild  fowl,  and  a  number  of  raccoons. 

When  a  company  of  Indians  are  moving  together  on  the 
lake,  as  it  is  at  this  time  of  the  year  often  dangerous  sailing, 
the  old  men  hold  a  council ;  and  when  they  agree  to  embark, 
every  one  is  engaged  immediately  in  making  ready,  without 
offering  one  word  against  the  measure,  though  the  lake  may 
be  boisterous  and  horrid.  One  morning,  though  the  wind  ap 
peared  to  me  to  be  as  high  as  in  days  past,  and  the  billows 
raging,  yet  the  call  was  given  yohoh-yohoh,  which  was  quickly 
answered  by  all — ooh-ook,  which  signifies  agreed.  We  were 
all  instantly  engaged  in  preparing  to  start,  and  had  considera* 
ble  difficulties  in  embarking. 

As  soon  as  we  got  into  our  canoes  we  fell  to  paddling  with 
all  our  might,  making  out  from  the  shore.  Though  these  sort 
of  canoes  ride  waves  beyond  what  could  be  expected,  yet  the 
water  several  times  dashed  into  them.  When  we  got  out 
about  half  a  mile  from  shore,  we  hoisted  sail,  and  as  it  was 
nearly  a  west  wind,  we  then  seemed  to  ride  the  waves  with 
ease,  and  went  on  at  a  rapid  rate.  We  then  all  laid  down  our 
paddles,  excepting  one  that  steered,  and  there  was  no  water 
dashed  into  our  canoes  until  we  came  near  the  shore  again. 
We  sailed  about  sixty  miles  that  day,  and  encamped  some 
time  before  night. 

The  next  day  we  again  embarked,  and  went  on  very  well 
for  some  time ;  but  the  lake  being  boisterous,  and  the  wind 
not  fair,  we  were  obliged  to  make  to  shore,  which  we  accom 
plished  with  hard  work  and  some  difficulty  in  landing.  The 
next  morning  a  council  was  held  by  the  old  men. 

As  we  had  this  day  to  pass  by  a  long  precipice  of  rocks 
on  the  shore  about  nine  miles,  whicji  rendered  it  impossible . 
for  us  to  land,  though  the  wind  was  high  and  the  lake  Tough, 
yet,  as  it  was  fair,  we  were  all  ordered  to  embark.  We 
wrought  ourselves  out  from  the  shore  and  hoisted  sail,  (what 
we  used  in  place  of  sail-cloth  were  our  tent  mats,  which  an 
swered  the  purpose  very  well,)  and  went  on  for  some  time 
with  a  fair  wind,  until  we  were  opposite  to  the  precipice,  and 
then  it  turned  towards  the  shore,  and  we  began  to  fear  we 
should  be  cast  upon  the  rocks.  Two  of  the  canoes  were  con 
siderably  farther  out  from  the  rocks  than  the  canoe  I  was  in. 
Those  who  were  farthest  out  in  the  lake  did  not  let  down 
their  sails  until  they  had  passed  the  precipice ;  but  as  we 
were  nearer  the  rock,  we  were  obliged  to  lower  our  sails,  and 


203  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

paddle  with  all  our  might.  With  much  difficulty  we  cleared 
ourselves  of  the  rock,  and  landed.  As  the  other  canoes  had 
landed  before  us,  there  were  immediately  runners  sent  off  tc 
see  if  we  were  all  safely  landed. 

This  night  the  wind  fell,  and  the  next  morning  the  lake 
was  tolerably  calm,  and  we  embarked  without  difficulty,  and 
paddled  along  near  the  shore,  until  we  came  to  the  mouth  of 
Cayahaga,  which  empties  into  lake  Erie  on  the  south  side, 
betwixt  Canesadooharie  and  Presq'  Isle. 

We  turned  up  Cayahaga  and  encamped,  where  we  staid 
and  hunted  for  several  days;  and  so  we  kept  moving  and 
hunting  until  we  came  to  the  forks  of  Cayahaga. 

This  is  a  very  gentle  river,  and  but  few  ripples,  or  swift 
running  places,  from  the  mouth  to  the  forks.  Deer  here  were 
tolerably  plenty,  large  and  fat ;  but  bear  and  other  game 
scarce.  The  upland  is  hilly,  and  principally  second  and  third 
rate  land ;  the  timber  chiefly  black  oak,  white  oak,  hickory, 
dogwood,  &c.  The  bottoms  are  rich  and  large,  and  the  tim 
ber  is  walnut,  locust,  mulberry,  sugar-tree,  red  haw,  black  haw, 
wild  apple-trees,  &c.  The  West  Branch  of  this  river  interlocks 
with  the  East  Branch  of  Muskingum,  and  the  East  Branch 
with  the  Big  Beaver  creek,  that  empties  into  the  Ohio  about 
thirty  miles  below  Pittsburgh. 

From  the  forks  of  Cayahaga  to  the  East  Branch  of  Musk 
ingum  there  is  a  carrying  place,  where  the  Indians  carry 
their  canoes,  &c.,  from  the  waters  of  lake  Erie  into  the  wa 
ters  of  the  Ohio. 

From  the  forks  I  went  over  with  some  hunters  to  the  East 
Branch  of  Muskingum,  where  they  killed  several  deer,  a  num 
ber  of  beavers,  and  returned  heavy  laden  with  skins  and  meat, 
which  we  carried  on  our  backs,  as  we  had  no  horses. 

The  land  here  is  chiefly  second  and  third  rate,  and  the  tim 
ber  chiefly  oak  and  hickory.  A  little  above  the  forks,  on  the 
East  Branch  of  Cayahaga,  are  considerable  rapids,  very  rocky 
for  some  distance,  but  no  perpendicular  falls. 

About  the  first  of  December,  1756,  we  were  preparing  for 
leaving  the  river :  we  buried  our  canoes,  and  as  usual  hung 
up  our  skins,  and  every  one  had  a  pack  to  carry.  The  squaws 
also  packed  up  their  tents,  which  they  carried  in  large  rolls 
that  extended  up  above  their  heads,  and  though  a  great  bulk, 
yet  not  heavy.  We  steered  about  a  south-east  course,  and 
could  not  march  over  ten  miles  per  day.  At  night  we  lodged 
in  our  flag  tents,  which,  when  erected,  were  nearly  in  the 
shape  of  a  sugar-loaf,  and  about  fifteen  feet  diameter  at  the 
ground. 

In  this  manner  we  proceeded  about  forty  miles,  and  win- 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  209 

tered  in  these  tents,  on  the  waters  of  Beaver  creek,  near  a  little 
lake  or  large  pond,  which  is  about  two  miles  long  and  one 
broad,  and  a  remarkable  place  for  beaver. 

It  is  a  received  opinion  among  the  Indians  that  the  geese 
turn  to  beavers,  and  the  snakes  to  raccoons ;  and  though  Te- 
caughretanego,  who  was  a  wise  man,  was  not  fully  persuaded 
that  this  was  true,  yet  he  seemed  in  some  measure  to  be  car 
ried  away  with  this  whimsical  notion.  He  said  that  this  pond 
had  been  always  a  great  place  for  beaver.  Though  he  said 
he  knew  them  to  be  frequently  all  killed,  (as  he  thought,)  yet 
the  next  winter  they  would  be  as  plenty  as  ever.  And  as  the 
beaver  was  an  animal  that  did  not  travel  by  land,  and  there 
being  no  watp^  "cmmunication  to  or  from  this  pond,  how 
could  such  a  number  of  beavers  get  there  year  after  year  ?  But 
as  this  pond  was  also  a  considerable  place  for  geese,  when 
they  came  in  the  fall  from  the  north,  and  alighted  in  this  pond, 
they  turned  beavers,  all  but  the  feet,  which  remained  nearly 
the  same. 

I  said,  that  though  there  was  no  water  communication  in  or 
out  of  this  pond,  yet  it  appeared  that  it  was  fed  by  springs,  as 
it  was  always  clear,  and  never  stagnated ;  and  as  a  very  large 
spring  rose  about  a  mile  below  this  pond,  it  was  likely  that 
this  spring  came  from  this  pond.  In  the  fall,  when  this  spring 
is  comparatively  low,  there  would  be  air  under  ground  suffi 
cient  for  the  beavers  to  breathe  in,  with  their  heads  above 
water,  for  they  cannot  live  long  under  water,  and  so  they 
might  have  a  subterraneous  passage  by  water  into  this  pond. 
Tecaughretanego  granted  that  it  might  be  so. 

About  the  sides  of  this  pond  there  grew  great  abundance  of 
cranberries,  which  the  Indians  gathered  up  on  the  ice  when 
the  pond  was  frozen  over.  These  berries  were  about  as  large 
as  rifle  bullets,  of  a  bright  red  color,  an  agreeable  sour, 
though  rather  too  sour  of  themselves,  but  when  mixed  with 
sugar  had  a  very  agreeable  taste. 

In  conversation  with  Tecaughretanego,  I  happened  to  be 
talking  of  the  beavers  catching  fish.  He  asked  me  why  I 
thought  that  the  beaver  caught  fish.  I  told  him  that  I  had 
read  of  the  beaver  making  dams  for  the  conveniency  of  fishing. 
He  laughed,  and  made  game  of  me  and  my  book.  He  said 
the  man  that  wrote  that  book  knew  nothing  about  the  beaver. 
The  beaver  never  did  eat  flesh  of  any  kind,  but  lived  on  the 
bark  of  trees,  roots,  and  other  vegetables. 

In  order  to  know  certainly  how  this  was,  when  we  killed  a 
beaver  I  carefully  examined  the  intestines,  but  found  no  ap 
pearance  of  fish ;  I  afterwards  made  an  experiment  on  a  pet 
beaver  which  we  had,  and  found  that  it  would  neither  eat  fish 
14 


210  COLONEL   SMITH'S   CAPTIVITY. 

nor  flesh ;  therefore  I  acknowledged  that  the  book  I  had  read 
was  wrong. 

I  asked  him  if  the  beaver  was  an  amphibious  animal,  or  if  it 
could  live  under  water.  He  said  that  the  beaver  was  a  kind 
of  subterraneous  water  animal  that  lives  in  or  near  the  water ; 
but  they  were  no  more  amphibious  than  the  ducks  and  geese 
were,  which  was  constantly  proven  to  be  the  case,  as  all  the 
beavers  that  are  caught  in  steel  traps  are  drowned,  provided 
the  trap  be  heavy  enough  to  keep  them  under  water.  As  the 
beaver  does  not  eat  fish,  I  inquired  of  Teoaughretanego  why 
the  beaver  made  such  large  dams.  He  said  they  were  of  use 
to  them  in  various  respects — both  for  their  safety  and  food. 
For  their  safety,  as  by  raising  the  water  over  the  mouths  of 
their  holes,  or  subterraneous  lodging  places,  they  could  not  be 
easily  found ;  and  as  the  beaver  feeds  chiefly  on  the  bark  of 
trees,  by  raising  the  water  over  the  banks  they  can  cut  down 
saplings  for  bark  to  feed  upon  without  going  out  much  upon 
the  land  ;  and  when  they  are  obliged  to  go  out  on  land  for 
this  food  they  frequently  are  caught  by  the  wolves.  As  the 
beaver  can  run  upon  land  but  little  faster  than  a  water  tortoise, 
and  is  no  fighting  animal,  if  they  are  any  distance  from  the 
water  they  become  an  easy  prey  to  their  enemies. 

I  asked  Tecaughretanego  what  was  the  use  of  the  beavers' 
stones,  or  glands,  to  them  ;  as  the  she  beaver  has  two  pair, 
which  is  commonly  called  the  oil  stones,  and  the  bark  stones. 
He  said  that  as  the  beavers  are  the  dumbest  of  all  animals, 
and  scarcely  ever  make  any  noise,  and  as  they  were  working 
creatures,  they  made  use  of  this  smell  in  order  to  work  in 
concert.  If  an  old  beaver  was  to  come  on  the  bank  and  rub 
his  breech  upon  the  ground,  and  raise  a  perfume,  the  others 
will  collect  from  different  places  and  go  to  work  :  this  is  also 
of  use  to  them  in  travelling,  that  they  may  thereby  search  out 
and  find  their  company.  Cunning  hunters,  finding  this  out, 
have  made  use  of  it  against  the  beavers,  in  order  to  catch 
them.  What  is  the  bait  which  you  see  them  make  use  of  but 
a  compound  of  the  oil  and  bark  stones  ?  By  this  perfume, 
which  is  only  a  false  signal,  they  decoy  them  to  the  trap. 

Near  this  pond  beaver  was  the  principal  game.  Before  the 
water  froze  up  we  caught  a  great  many  with  wooden  and  steel 
traps ;  but  after  that,  we  hunted  the  beaver  on  the  ice.  Some 
places  here  the  beavers  build  large  houses  to  live  in ;  and  in 
other  places  they  have  subterraneous  lodgings  in  the  banks. 
Where  they  lodge  in  the  ground  we  have  no  chance  of  hunting 
them  on  the  ice ;  but  where  they  have  houses,  we  go  with 
malls  and  handspikes,  and  break  all  the  hollow  ice,  to  prevent 
them  from  getting  their  heads  above  the  water  under  it.  Then 


COLONEL   SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  211 

we  break  a  hole  in  the  house,  and  they  make  their  escape  into 
the  water ;  but  as  they  cannot  live  long  under  water,  they  are 
obliged  to  go  to  some  of  those  broken  places  to  breathe,  and 
the  Indians  commonly  put  in  their  hands,  catch  them  by  the 
hind  leg,  haul  them  on  the  ice,  and  tomahawk  them.  Some 
times  they  shoot  them  in  the  head  when  they  raise  it  above 
the  water.  I  asked  the  Indians  if  they  were  not  afraid  to  catch 
the  beavers  with  their  hands.  They  said  no :  they  were  not 
much  of  a  biting  creature ;  yet  if  they  would  catch  them  by 
the  fore  foot  they  would  bite. 

I  went  out  with  Tecaughretanego  and  some  others  a  beaver 
hunting ;  but  we  did  not  succeed,  and  on  our  return  we  saw 
where  several  raccoons  had  passed  while  the  snow  was  soft, 
though  there  was  now  a  crust  upon  it ;  we  all  made  a  halt, 
looking  at  the  raccoon  tracks.  As  they  saw  a  tree  with  a  hole 
in  it,  they  told  me  to  go  and  see  if  they  had  gone  in  thereat ; 
and  if  they  had  to  halloo,  and  they  would  come  and  take  them 
out.  When  I  went  to  that  tree,  I  found  they  had  gone  past ; 
but  I  saw  another  the  way  they  had  gone,  and  proceeded  to 
examine  that,  and  found  they  had  gone  up  it.  I  then  began 
to  halloo,  but  could  have  no  answer. 

As  it  began  to  snow  and  blow  most  violently,  I  returned  and 
proceeded  after  my  company,  and  for  some  time  could  see  their 
tracks ;  but  the  old  snow  being  only  about  three  inches  deep, 
and  a  crust  upon  it,  the  present  driving  snow  soon  filled  up 
the  tracks.  As  I  had  only  a  bow,  arrows,  and  tomahawk  with 
me,  and  no  way  to  strike  fire,  I  appeared  to  be  in  a  dismal 
situation ;  and  as  the  air  was  dark  with  snow,  I  had  little 
more  prospect  of  steering  my  course  than  I  would  in  the  night. 
At  length  I  came  to  a  hollow  tree,  with  a  hole  at  one  side  that 
I  could  go  in  at.  I  went  in,  and  found  that  it  was  a  dry 
place,  and  the  hollow  about  three  feet  diameter,  and  high 
enough  for  me  to  stand  in.  I  found  that  there  was  also  a 
considerable  quantity  of  soft,  dry  rotten  wood  around  this  hol 
low  ;  I  therefore  concluded  that  I  would  lodge  here,  and  that 
I  would  go  to  work,  and  stop  up  the  door  of  my  house.  1 
stripped  off  my  blanket,  (which  was  all  the  clothes  that  I  had, 
excepting  a  breech-clout,  leggins  and  moccasins,)  and  with 
my  tomahawk  fell  to  chopping  at  the  top  of  a  fallen  tree  that 
lay  near,  and  carried  wood,  and  set  it  up  on  end  against  the 
door,  until  I  had  it  three  or  four  feet  thick  all  around,  except 
ing  a  hole  I  had  left  to  creep  in  at.  I  had  a  block  prepared  that 
I  could  haul  after  me  to  stop  this  hole ;  and  before  I  went 
in  I  put  in  a  number  of  small  sticks  that  I  might  more  effec 
tually  stop  it  on  the  inside.  When  I  went  in,  I  took  my  toma 
hawk  and  cut  down  all  the  dry  rotten  wood  I  could  get,  and 


212 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 


beat  it  small.  With  it  I  made  a  bed  like  a  goose-nest  or  hog- 
bed,  and  with  the  small  sticks  stopped  every  hole,  until  my 
house  was  almost  dark.  I  stripped  off  my  moccasins,  and 
danced  in  the  centre  of  my  bed,  for  about  half  an  hour,  in 
order  to  warm  myself.  In  this  time  my  feet  and  whole  body 
were  agreeably  warmed.  The  snow,  in  the  mean  while,  had 
Stopped  all  the  holes,  so  that  my  house  was  as  dark  as  a  dun 
geon,  though  I  knew  it  could  not  yet  be  dark  out  of  doors.  I 
then  coiled  myself  up  in  my  blanket,  lay  down  in  my  little 
round  bed,  and  had  a  tolerable  night's  lodging.  When  I 
awoke  all  was  dark — not  the  least  glimmering  of  light  was  to 
be  seen.  Immediately  I  recollected  that  I  was  not  to  expect 
light  in  this  new  habitation,  as  there  was  neither  door  nor 
window  in  it.  As  I  could  hear  the  storm  raging,  and  did  not 
suffer  much  cold  as  I  was  then  situated,  I  concluded  I  would 
stay  in  my  nest  until  I  was  certain  it  was  day.  When  I  had 
reason  to  conclude  that  it  surely  was  day,  I  arose  and  put  on 
my  moccasins,  which  I  had  laid  under  my  head  to  keep  from 
freezing.  I  then  endeavored  to  find  the  door,  and  had  to  do 
all  by  the  sense  of  feeling,  which  took  me  some  time.  At 
length  I  found  the  block,  but  it  being  heavy,  and  a  large  quan 
tity  of  snow  having  fallen  on  it,  at  the  first  attempt  I  did  not 
move  it.  I  then  felt  terrified — among  all  the  hardships  I  had 
sustained,  I  never  knew  before  what  it  was  to  be  thus  deprived 
of  light.  This,  with  the  other  circumstances  attending  it, 
appeared  grievous.  I  went  straightway  to  bed  again,  wrapped 
my  blanket  round  me,  and  lay  and  mused  a  while,  and  then 
prayed  to  Almighty  God  to  direct  and  protect  me  as  he  had 
done  heretofore.  I  once  again  attempted  to  move  away  the 
block,  which  proved  successful ;  it  moved  about  nine  inches. 
With  this  a  considerable  quantity  of  snow  fell  in  from  above, 
and  I  immediately  received  light;  so  that  I  found  a  very  great 
snow  had  fallen,  above  what  I  had  ever  seen  in  one  night.  I 
then  knew  why  I  could  not  easily  move  the  block,  and  I  was 
so  rejoiced  at  obtaining  the  light  that  all  my  other  difficulties 
seemed  to  vanish.  I  then  turned  into  my  cell,  and  returned 
God  thanks  for  having  once  more  received  the  light  of  heaven. 
At  lengih  I  belted  my  blanket  about  me,  got  my  tomahawk, 
bow  and  arrows,  and  went  out  of  my  den. 

I  was  now  in  tolerable  high  spirits,  though  the  snow  had 
fallen  above  three  feet  deep,  in  addition  to  what  was  on  the 
ground  before ;  and  the  only  imperfect  guide  I  had  in  order  to 
steer  my  course  to  camp  was  the  trees,  as  the  moss  generally 
grows  on  the  north-west  side  of  them,  if  they  are  straight.  I 
proceeded  on,  wading  through  the  snow,  and  about  twelve 
o'clock  (as  it  appeared  afterwards,  from  that  time  to  night,  for 


(See  p.  Z13) 


COLONEL  SMITH'S   CAPTIVITY.  213 

it  was  yet  cloudy)  I  came  upon  the  creek  that  our  camp  was 
on,  about  half  a  mile  below  the  camp ;  and  when  I  came  in 
sight  of  the  camp,  I  found  that  there  was  great  joy,  by  the 
shouts  and  yelling  of  the  boys,  &c. 

When  I  arrived,  they  all  came  round  me,  and  received  me 
gladly ;  but  at  this  time  no  questions  were  asked,  and  I  was 
taken  into  a  tent,  where  they  gave  me  plenty  of  fat  beaver 
meat,  and  then  asked  me  to  smoke.  When  I  had  done,  Te- 
caughretanego  desired  me  to  walk  out  to  a  fire  they  had  made. 
I  went  out,  and  they  all  collected  round  me,  both  men,  women, 
and  boys.  Tecaughretanego  asked  me  to  give  them  a  particu 
lar  account  of  what  had  happened  from  the  time  they  left  me 
yesterday  until  now.  I  told  them  the  whole  of  the  story,  and 
they  never  interrupted  me  ;  but  when  I  made  a  stop,  the  inter 
vals  were  filled  with  loud  acclamations  of  joy.  As  I  could  not 
at  this  time  talk  Ottawa  or  Jibewa  well,  (which  is  nearly  the 
same,)  I  delivered  my  story  in  Caughnewaga.  As  my  sister 
Molly's  husband  was  a  Jibewa,  and  could  understand  Caugh 
newaga,  he  acted  as  interpreter,  and  delivered  my  story  to  the 
Jibewas  and  Ottawas,  which  they  received  with  pleasure. 
When  all  this  was  done,  Tecaughretanego  made  a  speech  to 
me  in  the  following  manner  : 

"Brother, — You  see  we  have  prepared  snow-shoes  to  go 
after  you,  and  were  almost  ready  to  go  when  you  appeared; 
yet,  as  you  had  not  been  accustomed  to  hardships  in  your  coun 
try,  to  the  east,  we  never  expected  to  see  you  alive.  Now  we 
are  glad  to  see  you  in  various  respects :  we  are  glad  to  see 
you  on  your  own  account ;  and  we  are  glad  to  see  the  prospect 
of  your  filling  the  place  of  a  great  man,  in  whose  room  you 
were  adopted.  We  do  not  blame  you  for  what  has  happened, 
we  blame  ourselves ;  because  we  did  not  think  of  this  driving 
snow  filling  up  the  tracks,  until  after  we  came  to  camp. 

11  Brother, — Your  conduct  on  this  occasion  hath  pleased  us 
much  ;  you  have  given  us  an  evidence  of  your  fortitude,  skill, 
and  resolution  ;  and  we  hope  you  will  always  go  on  to  do 
great  actions,  as  it  is  only  great  actions  that  can  make  a  great 
man." 

I  told  my  brother  Tecaughretanego  that  I  thanked  them  for 
their  care  of  me,  and  for  the  kindness  I  always  received.  I 
told  him  that  I  always  wished  to  do  great  actions,  and  hoped  I 
never  would  do  any  thing  to  dishonor  any  of  those  with  whom 
I  was  connected.  I  likewise  told  my  Jibewa  brother-in-law  to 
tell  his  people  that  I  also  thanked  them  for  their  care  and 
kindness. 

The  next  morning  some  of  the  hunters  went  out  on  snow- 
shoes,  killed  several  deer,  and  hauled  some  of  them  into  camp 


214  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 


upon  the  snow.  They  fixed  their  carrying  strings  (which  are 
broad  in  the  middle  and  small  at  each  end)  in  the  fore  feet 
and  nose  of  the  deer,  and  laid  the  broad  part  of  it  on  their 
heads  or  about  their  shoulders,  arid  pulled  it  along ;  and  when 
it  is  moving,  will  not  sink  in  the  snow  much  deeper  than  a 
snow-shoe ;  and  when  taken  with  the  grain  of  the  hair,  slips 
along  very  easily. 

The  snow-shoes  are  made  like  a  hoop-net,  and  wrought  with 
buckskin  thongs.  Each  shoe  is  about  two  feet  and  a  half  long, 
and  about  eighteen  inches  broad  before,  and  small  behind,  with 
cross-bars,  in  order  to  fix  or  tie  them  to  their  feet.  After  the 
snow  had  lain  a  few  days,  the  Indians  tomahawked  the  deer, 
by  pursuing  them  in  this  manner. 

About  two  weeks  after  this  there  came  a  warm  rain,  and 
took  away  the  chief  part  of  the  snow,  and  broke  up  the  ice ; 
then  we  engaged  in  making  wooden  traps  to  catch  beavers,  as 
we  had  but  few  steel  traps.  These  traps  are  made  nearly  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  raccoon  traps  already  described. 

One  day,  as  I  was  looking  after  my  traps,  I  got  benighted, 
by  beaver  ponds  intercepting  my  way  to  camp ;  and  as  I  had 
neglected  to  take  fireworks  with  me,  and  the  weather  very 
cold,  I  could  find  no  suitable  lodging  place  ;  therefore,  the  only 
expedient  I  could  think  of  to  keep  myself  from  freezing  was 
exercise.  I  danced  and  hallooed  the  whole  night  with  all  my 
might,  and  the  next  day  came  to  camp.  Though  I  suffered 
much  more  this  time  than  the  other  night  I  lay  out,  yet  the 
Indians  were  not  so  much  concerned,  as  they  thought  I  had 
fireworks  with  me ;  but  when  they  knew  how  it  was,  they  did 
not  blame  me.  They  said  that  old  hunters  were  frequently 
involved  in  this  place,  as  the  beaver  dams  were  one  above 
another  on  every  creek  and  run,  so  that  it  is  hard  to  find  a 
fording  place.  They  applauded  me  for  my  fortitude,  and  said, 
as  they  had  now  plenty  of  beaver  skins,  they  would  purchase 
me  a  new  gun  at  Detroit,  as  we  were  to  go  there  the  next 
spring ;  and  then  if  I  should  chance  to  be  lost  in  dark  weather, 
I  could  make  a  fire,  kill  provision,  and  return  to  camp  when 
the  sun  shined.  By  being  bewildered  on  the  waters  of  Musk- 
ingum,  I  lost  repute,  and  was  reduced  to  the  bow  and  arrow, 
and  by  lying  out  two  nights  here  I  regained  my  credit. 

After  some  time  the  waters  all  froze  again,  and  then,  as 
formerly,  we  hunted  beavers  on  the  ice.  Though  beaver  meat, 
without  salt  or  bread,  was  the  chief  of  our  food  this  winter,  yet 
we  had  always  plenty,  and  I  was  well  contented  with  my  diet, 
as  it  appeared  delicious  fare,  after  the  way  we  had  lived  the 
winter  before. 

Some  time  in  February,  we  scaffolded  up  our  fur  and  skins, 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  215 

and  moved  about  ten  miles  in  quest  of  a  sugar  camp,  or  a  suit 
able  place  to  make  sugar,  and  encamped  in  a  large  bottom  on 
the  head  waters  of  Big  Beaver  creek.  We  had  some  diffi 
culty  in  moving,  as  we  had  a  blind  Caughnewaga  boy,  about 
fifteen  years  of  age,  to  lead ;  and  as  this  country  is  very 
brushy,  we  frequently  had  him  to  carry.  We  had  also  my 
Jibewa  brother-in-law's  father  with  us,  who  was  thought  by 
the  Indians  to  be  a  great  conjuror ;  his  name  was  Manetohcoa. 
This  old  man  was  so  decrepit  that  we  had  to  carry  him  this 
route  upon  a  bier,  and  all  our  baggage  to  pack  on  our  backs. 

Shortly  after  we  came  to  this  place,  the  squaws  began  tc 
make  sugar.  We  had  no  large  kettles  with  us  this  year,  and 
they  made  the  frost,  in  some  measure,  supply  the  place  of  fire, 
in  making  sugar.  Their  large  bark  vessels,  for  holding  the 
stock  water,  they  made  broad  and  shallow ;  and  as  the  weather 
is  very  cold  here,  it  frequently  freezes  at  night  in  sugar  time  ; 
and  the  ice  they  break  and  cast  out  of  the  vessels.  I  asked 
them  if  they  were  not  throwing  away  the  sugar.  They  said 
no ;  it  was  water  they  were  casting  away;  sugar  did  not  freeze, 
and  there  was  scarcely  any  in  that  ice.  They  said  I  might 
try  the  experiment,  and  boil  some  of  it,  and  see  what  I  would 
get.  I  never  did  try  it ;  but  I  observed  that,  after  several  times 
freezing,  the  water  that  remained  in  the  vessel  changed  its 
color,  and  became  brown  and  very  sweet. 

About  the  time  we  were  done  making  sugar  the  snow  went 
off  the  ground  ;  and  one  night  a  squaw  raised  an  alarm.  She 
said  she  saw  two  men  with  guns  in  their  hands,  upon  the  bank 
on  the  other  side  of  the  creek,  spying  our  tents ;  they  were 
supposed  to  be  Johnston's  Mohawks.  On  this  the  squaws  were 
ordered  to  slip  quietly  out  some  distance  into  the  bushes,  and 
all  who  had  either  guns  or  bows  were  to  squat  in  the  bushes 
near  the  tents ;  and  if  the  enemy  rushed  up,  we  were  to  give 
them  the  first  fire,  and  let  the  squaws  have  an  opportunity  of 
escaping.  I  got  down  beside  Tecaughretanego,  and  he  whis 
pered  to  me  not  to  be  afraid,  for  he  would  speak  to  the  Mo 
hawks,  and  as  they  spoke  the  same  tongue  that  we  did  they 
would  not  hurt  the  Caughnewagas  or  me  ;  but  they  would  kill 
all  the  Jibewas  and  Ottawas  that  they  could,  and  take  us  along 
with  them.  This  news  pleased  me  well,  and  I  heartily  wished 
for  the  approach  of  the  Mohawks. 

Before  we  withdrew  from  the  tents  they  had  carried  Mane 
tohcoa  to  the  fire,  and  gave  him  his  conjuring  tools,  which  were 
dyed  feathers,  the  bone  of  the  shoulder-blade  of  a  wildcat,  to 
bacco,  &c.  And  while  we  were  in  the  bushes,  Manetohcoa 
was  in  a  tent  at  the  fire,  conjuring  away  to  the  utmost  of  his 
ability.  At  length  he  called  aloud  for  us  all  to  come  in,  which 


34 


216  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

was  quickly  obeyed.  When  we  came  in  he  told  us  that  after 
he  had  gone  through  the  whole  of  his  ceremony*  and  expected 
to  see  a  number  of  Mohawks  on  the  flat  bone  when  it  was 
warmed  at  the  fire,  the  pictures  of  two  wolves  only  appeared. 
He  said,  though  there  were  no  Mohawks  about,  we  must  not 
be  angry  with  the  squaw  for  giving  a  false  alarm  ;  as  she  had 
occasion  to  go  out  and  happened  to  see  the  wolves,  though  it 
was  moonlight,  yet  she  got  afraid,  and  she  conceited  it  was 
Indians  with  guns  in  their  hands.  So  he  said  we  might  all  go 
to  sleep,  for  there  was  no  danger ;  and  accordingly  we  did. 

The  next  morning  we  went  to  the  place,  and  found  wolf 
tracks,  and  where  they  had  scratched  with  their  feet  like  dogs; 
but  there  was  no  sign  of  moccasin  tracks.  If  there  is  any  such 
thing  as  a  wizard,  I  think  Manetohcoa  was  as  likely  to  be  one 
as  any  man,  as  he  was  a  professed  worshipper  of  the  devil. 
But  let  him  be  a  conjuror  or  not,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  In 
dians  believed  what  he  told  them  upon  this  occasion,  as  well 
as  if  it  had  come  from  an  infallible  oracle ;  or  they  would  not, 
after  such  an  alarm  as  this,  go  all  to  sleep  in  an  unconcerned 
manner.  This  appeared  to  me  the  most  like  witchcraft  of  any 
thing  I  beheld  while  I  was  with  them.  Though  I  scrutinized 
their  proceedings  in  business  of  this  kind,  yet  I  generally  found 
that  their  pretended  witchcraft  was  either  art  or  mistaken  no 
tions,  whereby  they  deceived  themselves.  Before  a  battle  they 
spy  the  enemy's  motions  carefully,  and  when  they  find  that 
they  can  have  considerable  advantage,  and  the  greatest  prospect 
of  success,  then  the  old  men  pretend  to  conjure,  or  to  tell  what 
the  event  will  be  ;  and  this  they  do  in  a  figurative  mannerv 
which  wtfl  bear  something  of  a  different  interpretation,  which 
generally  comes  to  pass  nearly  as  they  foretold.  Therefore  the 
young  warriors  generally  believed  these  old  conjurors,  which 
had  a  tendency  to  animate  and  excite  them  to  push  on  with 
vigor. 

Some  time  in  March,  1757,  we  began  to  move  back  to  the 
forks  of  Cayahaga,  which  was  about  forty  or  fifty  miles.  And 
as  we  had  no  horses,  we  had  all  our  baggage  and  several  hun 
dred  weight  of  beaver  skins,  and  some  deer  and  bear  skins,  all 
*o  pack  on  our  backs.  The  method  we  took  to  accomplish  this 
was  by  making  short  days' journeys.  In  the  morning  we  would 
move  on,  with  as  much  ns  we  were  able  to  carry,  about  five 
miles,  and  encamp,  and  then  run  back  for  more.  We  com 
monly  made  three  such  trips  in  the  day.  When  we  came  to 
the  great  pond,  we  staid  there  one  day  to  rest  ourselves,  and  to 
kill  duck*  and  geese. 

While  we  remained  here,  I  went  in  company  with  a  young 
Caughnewaga,  who  was  about  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of 


COLONEL   SMITH'S    CAPTIVITY.  217 

age,  Chinnohete  by  name,  in  order  to  gather  cranberries.  As 
he  was  gathering  berries  at  some  distance  from  me,  three  Jib- 
ewa  squaws  crept  up  undiscovered,  and  made  at  him  speedily, 
but  he  nimbly  escaped,  and  came  to  me  apparently  terrified, 
I  asked  him  what  he  was  afraid  of.  He  replied,  did  you  not 
see  those  squaws  ?  I  told  him  I  did,  and  they  appeared  to  be 
.'n  a  very  good  humor.  I  asked  him  wherefore  then  he  was 
afraid  of  them.  He  said  the  Jibewa  squaws  were  very  bad 
women,  and  had  a  very  ugly  custom  among  them.  I  asked 
him  what  that  custom  was.  He  said  that  when  two  or  three 
of  them  could  catch  a  young  lad,  that  was  betwixt- a  man  and 
a  boy,  out  by  himself,  if  they  could  overpower  him,  they  would 
strip  him  by  force,  in  order  to  see  whether  Le  was  coming  on 
to  be  a  man  or  not.  He  said  that  was  what  they  intended 
when  they  crawled  up  and  ran  so-violently  at  him ;  but,  said 
he,  I  am  very  glad  that  I  so  narrowly  escaped.  I  then  agreed 
with  Chinnohete  in  condemning  this  as  a  bad  custom,  and  an 
exceedingly  immodest  action  for  young  women  to  be  guilty  o£ 

From  our  -sugar  camp  on  the  head  waters  of  Big  Beaver 
creek  to  this  place  is  not  hilly.  In  some  places  the  woods  are 
tolerably  clear,  hut  in  most  places  exceedingly  brushy.  The 
land  here  is  chiefly  second  and  third  rate.  The  timber  on  the 
upland  is  white  oak,  black  oak,  hickory,  and  chesnut.  There 
is  also  in  some  places  walnut  upland,  and  plenty  of  good  water. 
The  bottoms  here  are  generally  large  and  good. 

We  again  proceeded  on  from  the  pond  to  the  forks  of  Caya 
haga,  at  the  rate  of  about  five  miles  per  day. 

The  land  on  this  route  is  not  very  hilly  ;  it  is  well  watered^ 
and  in  many  places  ill  timbered,  generally  brushy,  and  chiefly 
second  and  third  rate  land,  intermixed  with  good  bottoms. 

When  we  came  to  the  forks,  we  found  that  the  skins  we  had 
scaffolded  were  all  safe.  Though  this  was  a  public  place,  and 
Indians  frequently  passing,  and  our  skins  hanging  up  in  vie\¥, 
yet  there  were  none  stolen.  And  it  is  seldom  that  Indians  da 
steal  any  thing  from  one  another.  And  they  say  they  never 
did,  until  the  white  people  came  among  them,  arid  learned 
some  of  them  to  lie,  cheat,  and  steal ;  but  be  that  as  it  ma^, 
they  never  did  curse  or  swear  until  the  whites  learned  them. 
Some  think  their  language  will  not  admit  of  it,  but  I  am  no! 
of  that  opinion.  If  I  was, so  disposed,  I  could  find  language 
to  curse  or  swear  in  the  Indian  tongue. 

I  remember  that  Tecaughretanego,  when  something  displeas 
ed  him,  said,  God  damn  it.  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  what  he 
then  said.  He  said  he  did,  and  mentioned  one  of  their  degrad 
ing  expressions,  which  he  supposed  to  be  the  meaning  of 
something  like  the  meaning  of  what  he  had  said.  I  told  him 
19 


218  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

that  it  did  not  bear  the  least  resemblance  to  it ;  that  what  he 
had  said  was  calling  upon  the  Great  Spirit  to  punish  the  object 
he  was  displeased  with.  He  stood  for  some  time  amazed,  and 
then  said,  if  this  be  the  meaning  of  these  words,  what  sort  of 
people  are  the  whites  ?  When  the  traders  were  among  us, 
these  words  seemed  to  be  intermixed  with  all  their  discourse. 
He  told  me  to  reconsider  what  I  had  said,  for  he  thought  I 
must  be  mistaken  in  my  definition.  If  I  was  not  mistaken,  he 
said,  the  traders  applied  these  words  not  only  wickedly,  but 
eftentimes  vfcry  foolishly  and  contrary  to  sense  or  reason.  He 
said  he  remembered  once  of  a  trader's  accidentally  breaking 
his  gun-lock,  and  on  that  occasion  calling  out  aloud,  God  damn 
it ;  surely,  said  he,  the  gun-lock  was  not  an  object  worthy  of  i 

punishment  for  Owaneeyo,  or  the  Great  Spirit.  He  also  ob 
served  the  traders  often  used  this  expression  when  they  were  in 
a  good  humor,  and  not  displeased  with  any  thing.  I  acknow 
ledged  that  the  traders  used  this  expression  very  often,  in  a 
most  irrational,  inconsistent,  and  impious  manner ;  yet  I  still 
asserted  that  I  had  given  the  true  meaning  of  these  words. 
He  replied,  if  so,  the  traders  are  as  bad  as  Oonasahroona,  or 
the  under  ground  inhabitants,  which  is  the  name  they  give  the 
devils,  as  they  entertain  a  notion  that  their  place  of  residence 
is  under  the  earth. 

We  lookup  our  birch-bark  canoes  which  we  had  buried,  and 
found  that  they  were  not  damaged  by  the  winter ;  but  they 
not  being  sufficient  to  carry  all  that  we  now  had,  we  made  a 
large  chesnut-bark  canoe,  as  elm  bark  was  not  to  be  found  at 
this  place. 

We  all  embarked,  and  had  a  very  agreeable  passage  down 
the  Cayahaga,  and  along  the  south  side  of  lake  Erie,  until 
we  passed  the  mouth  of  Sandusky ;  then  the  wind  arose,  and 
we  put  in  at  the  mouth  of  the  Miami  of  the  lake,  at  Cedar 
Point,  where  we  remained  several  days,  and  killed  a  number 
of  turkeys,  geese,  ducks,  and  swans.  The  wind  being  fair, 
and  the  lake  not  extremely  rough,  we  again  embarked,  hoisted 
up  sails,  and  arrived  safe  at  the  Wyandot  town,  nearly  oppo 
site  to  fort  Detroit,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  Here  we 
found  a  number  of  French  traders,  every  one  very  willing  to 
deal  with  us  for  our  beaver. 

We  bought  ourselves  fine  clothes,  ammunition,  paint,  tobacco, 
&c.,and,  according  to  promise,  they  purchased  me  a  new  gun; 
yet  we  had  parted  with  only  about  one  third  of  our  beaver. 
At  length  a  trader  came  to  town  with  French  brandy  ;  we  pur 
chased  a  keg  of  it,  and  held  a  council  about  who  was  to  get 
drunk  and  who  was  to  keep  sober.  I  was  invited  to  get  drunk, 
but  I  refused  the  proposal ;  then  they  told  me  that  I  must  be 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  219 

one  of  those  who  were  to  take  care  of  the  drunken  people.  I 
did  not  like  this  ;  but  of  two  evils  I  chose  that  which  I  thought 
was  the  least — and  fell  in  with  those  who  were  to  conceal  the 
arms,  and  keep  every  dangerous  weapon  we  could  out  of  their 
way,  and  endeavor,  if  possible,  to  keep  the  drinking  club  from 
killing  each  other,  which  was  a  very  hard  task.  Several  times 
we  hazarded  our  own  lives,  and  got  ourselves  hurt,  in  prevent 
ing  them  from  slaying  each  other.  Before  they  had  finished 
this  keg,  near  one  third  of  the  town  was  introduced  to  this 
drinking  club ;  they  could  not  pay  their  part,  as  they  had 
already  disposed  of  all  their  skins ;  but  that  made  no  odds — all 
were  welcome  to  drink. 

When  they  were  done  with  this  keg,  they  applied  to  the  tra 
ders,  and  procured  a  kettle  full  of  brandy  at  a  time,  which 
they  divided  out  with  a  large  wooden  spoon ;  and  so  they 
went  on,  and  never  quit  while  they  had  a  single  beaver  skin* 

When  the  trader  had  got  all  our  beaver,  he  moved  off  to  the 
Ottawa  town,  about  a  mile  above  the  Wyandot  town. 

When  the  brandy  was  gone,  and  the  drinking  club  sober, 
they  appeared  much  dejected.  Some  of  them  were  crippled, 
others  badly  wounded,  a  number  of  their  fine  new  ehirts  tore, 
and  several  blankets  were  burned.  A  number  of  squaws  were 
also  in  this  club,  and  neglected  their  corn-planting. 

We  could  now  hear  the  effects  of  the  brandy  in  the  Ottawa 
town.  They  were  singing  and  yelling  in  the  most  hideous 
manner,  both  night  and  day  ;  but  their  frolic  ended  worse  than 
ours :  five  Ottawas  were  killed  and  a  great  many  wounded. 

After  this  a  number  of  young  Indians  were  getting  their 
ears  cut,  and  they  urged  me  to  have  mine  cut  likewise,  but 
they  did  not  attempt  to  compel  me,  though  they  endeavored 
to  persuade  me.  The  principal  arguments  they  used  were, 
its  being  a  very  great  ornament,  and  also  the  common  fash* 
ion.  The  former  I  did  not  believe,  and  the  latter  I  could 
not  deny.  The  way  they  performed  this  operation  was  by 
cutting  the  fleshy  part  of  the  circle  of  the  ear,  close  to  the 
gristle,  quite  through.  When  this  was  done  they  wrapt  rags 
round  this  fleshy  part  until  it  was  entirely  healed ;  they  then 
hung  lead  to  it,  and  stretched  it  to  a  wonderful  length :  when 
it  was  sufficiently  stretched,  they  wrapped  the  fleshy  part  round 
with  brass  wire,  which  formed  it  into  a  semicircle  about  four 
inches  diameter. 

Many  of  the  young  men  were  now  exercising  themselves  in 
a  game  resembling  foot-ball,  though  they  commonly  struck 
the  ball  with  a  crooked  stick  made  for  that  purpose ;  also  a 
game  something  like  this,  wherein  they  used  a  wooden  ball, 
about  three  inches  diameter,  and  the  instrument  they  moved  it 


COLONEL   SMITH'S   CAPTIVITY. 

with  was  a  strong  staff,  about  five  feet  long-,  with  a  hoop  net  on 
the  end  of  it  large  enough  to  contain  the  ball.  Before  they 
begin  the  play,  they  lay  off  about  half  a  mile  distance  in  a 
clear  plain,  and  the  opposite  parties  all  attend  at  the  centre, 
where  a  disinterested  person  casts  up  the  ball,  then  the  oppo 
site  parties  all  contend  for  it.  If  any  one  gets  it  into  his  net, 
he  runs  with  it  the  way  he  wishes  it  to  go,  and  they  all  pursue 
him.  If  one  of  the  opposite  party  overtakes  the  person  with 
the  ball,  he  gives  the  staff*  a  stroke,  which  causes  the  ball  to 
fly  out  of  the  net ;  then  they  have  another  debate  for  it,  and  if 
the  one  that  gets  it  can  outrun  all  the  opposite  party,  and  can 
carry  it  quite  out.  or  over  the  line  at  the  end,  the  game  is  won  ; 
but  this  seldom  happens.  When  any  one  is  running  away 
with  the  ball,  and  is  likely  to  be  overtaken,  he  commonly 
throws  it,  and  with  this  instrument  can  cast  it  fifty  or  sixty 
yards.  Sometimes  when  the  ball  is  almost  at  the  one  end, 
matters  will  'take  a  sudden  turn,  and  the  opposite  party  may 
quickly  carry  it  out  at  the  other  end.  Oftentimes  they  will 
work  a  long  while  back  and  forward  before  they  can  get  the 
ball  over  the  line,  or  win  the  game. 

About  the. 1st  of  June,  1757,  the  warriors  were  preparing  to 
go  to  war,,  in  the  Wyandot,  Pottowatomy,  and  Ottawa  towns; 
also  a  great  many  Jibewas  came  down  from  the  upper  lakes 
and  after  singing  their  war-songs,  and  going  through  their 
common  ceremonies,  they  marched  off  against  the  frontiers  of 
Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania,  in  their  usual  manner, 
singing  the  travelling  song,  slow  firing,  &c. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  opposite  to 
fort  Detroit,  .-there  is  an  island,  which  the  Indians  call  the 
Long  Island,  and  which  they  say  is  above  one  thousand  miles 
long,  and  in  some  places  above  one  hundred  miles  broad. 
They  further  say  that  the  great  river  that  comes  down  by  Can- 
esatauga,  and  that  empties  into  the  main  branch  of  St.  Law 
rence,  above  Montreal,  originates  from  one  source  with  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  forms  this  island. 

Opposite  to  Detroit,  and  below  it,  was  originally  a  prairie- 
and  laid  off  in  lots  about  sixty  rods  broad,  and  a  great  length; 
each  lot  is  divided  into  two  fields,  which  they  cultivate  year 
about.  The  principal  grain  that  the  French  raised  in  these 
fields  was  spring  wheat  and  peas. 

They  built  all  their  houses  on  the  front  of  these  lots  on  the 
river-side  ;  and  as  the  banks  of  the  river  are  very  low,  some 
of  the  houses  are  not  above  three  or  four  feet  above  the  sur 
face  of  the  water;  yet  they  are  in  no  danger  of  being  disturb 
ed  by  freshets,  as  the  river  seldom  rises  above  eighteen  irches* 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  221 

because  it  is  the  communication  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence, 
from  one  lake  to  another. 

As  dwelling-houses,  barns  and  stables  are  all  built  on  the 
front  of  these  lots,  at  a  distance  it  appears  like  a  continued  row 
of  houses  in  a  town,  on  each  side  of  the  river,  for  a  long  way. 
These  villages,  the  town,  the  river  and  the  plains,  being  all  in 
view  at  once,  afford  a  most  delightful  prospect. 

The  inhabitants  here  chiefly  drink  the  river  water ;  and  as 
it  comes  from  the  northward,  it  is  very  wholesome. 

The  land  here  is  principally  second  rate,  and,  comparatively 
speaking,  a  small  part  is  first  or  third  rate  ;  though  about  four 
or  five  miles  south  of  Detroit  there  is  a  small  portion  that  is 
worse  than  what  I  would  call  third  rate,  which  produces  abun 
dance  of  whortleberries. 

There  is  plenty  of  good  meadow  ground  here,  and  a  great 
many  marshes  that  are  overspread  with  water.  The  timber  is 
elm,  sugar-tree,  black  ash,  white  ash,  abundance  of  water  ash, 
oak,  hickory,  and  some  walnut. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  the  Indians  were  almost  all  gone 
to  war,  from  sixteen  to  sixty ;  yet  Tecaughretanego  remained 
in  town  with  me.  Though  he  had  formerly,  when  they  were 
at  war  with  tha  southern  nations,  been  a  great  warrior  and  an 
eminent  counsellor,  and  I  think  as  clear  and  able  a  reasoner 
upon  any  subject  that  he  had  an  opportunity  of  being  acquaint 
ed  with  as  I  ever  knew  ;  yet  he  hnd  all  along  been  against 
this  war,  and  had  strenuously  opposes!  it  in  council.  He  said, 
if  the  English  and  French  had  a  quarrel,  let  them  fight  their 
own  battles  themselves  ;  it  is  not  our  business  to  intermeddle 
therewith. 

Before  the  warriors  returned,  we  were  very  scarce  of  pro 
vision  ;  and  though  we  did  not  commonly  steal  from  one 
another,  yet  we  stole  during  this  time  any  thing  that  we  could 
eat  from  the  French,  under  the  notion  that  it  was  just  for  us 
to  do  so, because  they  supported  their  soldiers;  and  our  squaws, 
old  men  and  children  were  suffering  on  the  account  of  the 
war,  as  our  hunters  were  all  gone. 

Some  time  in  August,  the  warriors  returned,  and  brought  in 
with  them  a  great  many  scalps,  prisoners,  horses  and  plunder ; 
and  the  common  report  among  the  young  warriors  was,  that 
they  would  entirely  subdue  Tulhasaga,  that  is  the  English, 
or  it  might  be  literally  rendered  the  Morning  Light  inhabit 
ants. 

About  the  first  of  November,  a  number  of  families  were 

preparing  to  i^o  on  their  winter  hunt,  and  all  agreed   to  cross 

the  lake  together.     We  encamped  at  the   mouth   of  the  river 

the  firrt  night,  and  a   council   was  held,  whether  we   should 

19* 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

cross  through  by  the  three  islands,  or  coast  it  round  the  lake. 
These  islands  lie  in  a  line  across  the  lake,  and  are  just  in  sight 
of  each  other.  Some  of  the  Wyandots,  or  Ottawas,  frequent 
ly  make  their  winter  hunt  on  these  islands ;  though,  except 
ing  wild  fowl  and  fish,  there  is  scarcely  any  game  here  but 
raccoons,  which  are  amazingly  plenty,  and  exceedingly  large 
and  fat,  as  they  feed  upon  the  wild  rice,  which  grows  in 
abundance  in  wet  places  round  these  islands.  It  is  said  that 
each  hunter,  in  one  winter,  will  catch  one  thousand  raccoons. 

It  is  a  received  opinion  among  the  Indians  that  the  snakes 
and  raccoons  are  transmigratory,  and  that  a  great  many  of  the 
snakes  turn  raccoons  every  fall,  and  raccoons  snakes  every 
spring.  This  notion  is  founded  on  observations  made  on  the 
snakes  and  raccoons  in  this  island. 

As  the  raccoons  here  lodge  in  rocks,  the  trappers  make  their 
wooden  traps  at  the  mouth  of  the  holes  ;  and  as  they  go  daily 
to  look  at  their  traps,  in  the  winter  season,  they  commonly  find 
them  filled  with  raccoons  ;  but  in  the  spring,  or  when  the  frosi 
is  out  of  the  ground,  they  say,  they  then  find  their  traps  filled 
with  large  rattlesnakes  ;  and  therefore  conclude  that  the  rac 
coons  are  transformed.  They  also  say  that  the  reason  why 
they  are  so  remarkably  plenty  in  the  winter,  is,  every  fall  the 
snakes  turn  raccoons  again. 

I  told  them  that  though  I  had  never  landed  on  any  of  these 
islands,  yet,  from  the  unanimous  accounts  I  had  received,  I 
believed  that  both  snakes  and  raccoons  were  plenty  there ;  but 
no  doubt  they  all  remained  there  both  summer  and  winter, 
only  the  snakes  were  not  to  be  seen  in  the  latter ;  yet  I  did 
not  believe  that  they  were  transmigratory. 

These  islands  are  but  seldom  visited;  because  early  in  the 
spring,  and  late  in  the  fall,  it  is  dangerous  sailing  in  their  bark 
canoes ;  and  in  the  summer  they  are  so  infested  with  various 
kinds  of  serpents,  (but  chiefly  rattlesnakes,)  that  it  is  danger 
ous  landing. 

I  shall  now  quit  this  digression,  and  return  to  the  result  of 
the  council  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  We  concluded  to  coast 
it  round  the  lake,  and  in  two  days  we  came  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Miami  of  the  Lake,  and  landed  on  Cedar  Point,  where  we 
remained  several  days.  Here  we  held  a  council,  and  con 
cluded  we  would  take  a  driving  hunt  in  concert  and  in  part 
nership. 

The  river  in  this  place  is  about  a  mile  broad,  and  as  it  and 
the  lake  forms  a  kind  of  neck,  which  terminates  in  a  point,  all 
the  hunters  (which  were  fifty-three)  went  up  the  river,  and 
we  scattered  ourselves  from  the  river  to  the  lake.  When  we 
first  began  to  move  we  were  not  in  sight  of  each  other,  but  as 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  223 

we  all  raised  the  yell,  we  could  move  regularly  together  by 
the  noise.  At  length  we  came  in  sight  of  each  other,  and 
appeared  to  be  marching  in  good  order ;  before  we  came  to 
the  point,  both  the  squaws  and  boys  in  the  canoes  were  scat 
tered  up  the  river  and  along  the  lake,  to  prevent  the  deer  from 
making  their  escape  by  water.  As  we  advanced  near  the  point 
the  guns  began  to  crack  slowly,  and  after  some,  time  the  fir 
ing  was  like  a  little  engagement.  The  squaws  and  boys  were 
busy  tomahawking  the  deer  in  the  water,  and  we  shooting 
them  down  on  the  land.  We  killed  in  all  about  thirty  deer, 
though  a  great  many  made  their  escape  by  water. 

We  had  now  great  feasting  and  rejoicing,  as  we  had  plenty 
of  homony,  venison  and  wild  fowl.  The  geese  at  this  time 
appeared  to  be  preparing  to  move  southward.  It  might  be 
asked  what  is  meant  by  the  geese  preparing  to  move.  The 
Indians  represent  them  as  holding  a  great  council  at  this  time 
concerning  the  weather,  in  order  to  conclude  upon  a  day,  that 
they  may  all  at  or  near  one  time  leave  the  northern  lakes,  and 
wing  their  way  to  the  southern  bays.  When  matters  are 
brought  to  a  conclusion,  and  the  time  appointed  that  they  are 
to  take  wing,  then  they  say  a  great  number  of  expresses  are 
sent  off,  in  order  to  let  the  different  tribes  know  the  result  of 
this  council,  that  they  may  be  all  in  readiness  to  move  at  the 
time  appointed.  As  there  is  a  great  commotion  among  the 
geese  at  this  time,  it  would  appear  by  their  actions  that  such 
a  council  had  been  held.  Certain  it  is  that  they  are  led  by 
instinct  to  act  in  concert,  and  to  move  off  regularly  after  their 
leaders. 

Here  our  company  separated.  The  chief  part  of  them  went 
up  the  Miami  river,  which  empties  into  lake  Erie  at  Cedar 
Point,  whilst  we  proceeded  on  our  journey  in  company  with 
Tecaughretanego,  Tontileaugo,  and  two  families  of  the  Wyan- 
dots. 

As  cold  weather  was  now  approaching,  we  began  to  feel 
the  doleful  effects  of  extravagantly  and  foolishly  spending  the 
large  quantity  of  beaver  we  had  taken  in  our  last  winter's 
hunt.  We  were  all  nearly  in  the  same  circumstances ;  scarce 
ly  one  had  a  shirt  to  his  back  ;  but  each  of  us  had  an  old 
blanket,  which  we  belted  round  us  in  the  day,  and  slept  in  at 
night,  with  a  deer  or  bear  skin  under  us  for  our  bed. 

When  we  came  to  the  falls  of  Sandusky,  we  buried  our 
birch-bark  canoes,  as  usual,  at  a  large  burying-place  for  that 
purpose,  a  little  below  the  falls.  At  this  place  the  river  falls 
about  eight  feet  over  a  rock,  but  not  perpendicularly.  With 
much  difficulty  we  pushed  up  our  wooden  canoes ;  some  of  us 
went  up  the  river,  and  the  rest  by  land  with  the  horses,  until 


224  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

we  came  to  the  great  meadows  or  prairies,  that  lie  between 
Sandusky  and  Sciota. 

When  we  came  to  this  place,  we  met  with  some  Ottaw? 
hunters,  and  agreed  with  them  to  take  what  they  call  a  ring 
hunt,  in  partnership.  We  waited  until  we  expected  rain  was 
near  falling  to  extinguish  the  fire,  and  then  we  kindled  a  large 
circle  in  the  prairie.  At  this  time,  or  before  the  bucks  began 
to  ran,  a  great  number  of  deer  lay  concealed  in  the  grass,  in 
the  day,  and  moved  about  in  the  night ;  but  as  the  fire  burned 
in  towards  the  centre  of  the  circle,  the  deer  fled  before  the  fire; 
the  Indians  were  scattered  also  at  some  distance  before  the  fire, 
and  shot  them  down  every  opportunity,  which  was  very  fre 
quent,  especially  as  the  circle  became  small.  When  we  came 
to  divide  the  deer,  there  were  about  ten  to  each  hunter,  which 
were  al!  killed  in  a  few  hours.  The  rain  did  not  come  on  that 
night  to  put  out  the  outside  circle  of  the  fire,  and  as  the  wind 
arose,  it  extended  through  the  whole  prairie,  which  was  about 
fifty  miles  in  length,  and  in  some  places  nearly  twenty  in 
breadth.  This  put  an  end  to  our  ring  hunting  this  season,  and 
was  in  other  respects  an  injury  to  us  in  the  hunting  business ; 
so  that  upon  the  whole  we  received  more  harm  than  benefit 
by  our  rapid  hunting  frolic.  We  then  moved  from  the  north 
end  of  the  glades,  and  encamped  at  the  carrying  place. 

This  place  is  in  the  plains,  betwixt  a  creek  that  empties  into 
Sandusky  and  one  that  runs  into  Sciota.  And  at  the  time  of 
high  water,  or  in  the  spring  season,  there  is  but  about  one  halt 
mile  of  portage,  and  that  very  level,  and  clear  of  rocks,  timbe1*, 
or  stones ;  so  that  with  a  little  digging  there  may  be  water 
carriage  the  whole  way  from  Sciota  to  lake  Erie. 

From  the  mouth  of  Sandusky  to  the  falls  is  chiefly  first  rate 
land,  lying  flat  or  level,  intermixed  with  large  bodies  of  clear 
meadows,  where  the  grass  is  exceedingly  rank,  and  in  many 
places  three  or  four  feet  high.  The  timber  is  oak,  hickory, 
walnut,  cherry,  black  ash,  elm,  sugar-tree,  buckeye,  locust  and 
beech.  In  some  places  there  is  wet  timber  land — the  timber 
in  these  places  is  chiefly  water  ash,  sycamore,  or  button-wood. 

From  the  falls  to  the  prairies,  the  Inrnd  lies  well  to  the  sun ; 
it  is  neither  too  flat  nor  too  hilly,  and  is  chiefly  first  rate;  the 
timber  nearly  the  same  as  below  the  falls,  excepting  the  water 
ash.  There  is  also  here  some  plats  of  beech  land,  that  appears 
to  be  second  rate,  as  it  frequently  produces  spice-wood.  The 
prairie  appears  to  be  a  tolerably  fertile  soil,  though  in  many 
places  too  wet  for  cultivation  ;  yet  I  apprehend  it  would  pro 
duce  timber,  were  it  only  kept  from  fire. 

The  Indians  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  squirrels  plant  all 
the  timber,  as  they  bury  a  number  of  nuts  for  food,  and  only 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  225 

one  at  a  place.     When  a  squirrel  is  killed,  the  various  kinds 
of  nuts  thus  buried  will  grow. 

I  have  observed  that  when  these  prairies  have  only  escaped 
fire  for  one  year,  near  where  a  single  tree  stood  there  was  a 
young  growth  of  timber  supposed  to  be  planted  by  the  squir 
rels.  But  when  the  prairies  were  again  burned,  all  this  young 
growth  was  immediately  consumed;  as  the  fire  rages  in  the 
grass  to  such  a  pitch,  that  numbers  of  raccoons  are  thereby 
burned  to  death. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  prairie,  or  betwixt  that  and  Sciota, 
there  is  a  large  body  of  first  rate  land — the  timber,  walnut,  lo 
cust,  sugar-tree,  buckeye,  cherry, ash,  elm,  mulberry, plum-trees, 
spice-wood,  black  haw,  red  haw,  oak,  and  hickory. 

About  the  time  the  bucks  quit  running,  Tontileaugo,  his  wife 
and  children,  Tecaughretanego,  his  son  Nunganey  and  myself, 
left  the  Wyandot  camps  at  the  carrying  place,  and  crossed  the 
Sciota  river  at  the  south  end  of  the  glades,  and  proceeded  on 
about  a  south-west  course  to  a  large  creek  called  Ollentangy, 
which  I  believe  interlocks  with  the  waters  of  the  Miami,  and 
empties  into  Sciota  on  the  west  side  thereof.  From  the  south 
end  of  the  prairie  to  Ollentangy  there  is  a  large  quantity  of 
beech  land,  intermixed  with  first  rate  land.  Here  we  made 
our  winter  hut,  and  had  considerable  success  in  hunting. 

After  some  time,  one  of  Tontileaugo's  step-sons  (a  lad  about 
eight  years  of  age)  offended  him,  and  he  gave  the  boy  a  mode 
rate  whipping,  which  much  displeased  his  Wyandot  wife.  She 
acknowledged  that  the  boy  was  guilty  of  a  fault,  but  thought 
that  he  ought  to  have  been  ducked,  which  is  their  usual  mode 
of  chastisement.  She  said  she  could  not  bear  to  have  her  son 
whipped  like  a  servant  or  slave ;  and  she  was  so  displeased, 
that  when  Tontileaugo  went  out  to  hunt,  she  got  her  two 
horses,  and  all  her  effects,  (as  in  this  country  the  husband  and 
wife  have  separate  interests,)  and  moved  back  to  the  Wyandot 
camp  that  we  had  left. 

When  Tontileaugo  returned,  he  was  much  disturbed  on 
hearing  of  his  wife's  elopement,  and  said  that  he  would  never 
go  after  her,  were  it  not  that  he  was  afraid  that  she  would  get 
bewildered,  and  that  his  children  that  she  had  taken  with  her 
might  suffer.  Tontileaugo  went  after  his  wife,  and  when  they 
met  they  made  up  the  quarrel ;  and  he  never  returned,  but  left 
Tecaughretanego  and  his  son,  (a  boy  about  ten  years  of  age,) 
and  myself,  who  remained  here  in  our  hut  all  winter. 

Tecaughretanego  had  been  a  first-rate  warrior,  statesman 
and  hunter,  and  though  he  was  now  near  sixty  years  of  age, 
was  yet  equal  to  the  common  run  of  hunters,  but  subject  to 
the  rheumatism,  which  deprived  him  of  the  use  of  his  legs. 
15 


226  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

Shortly  after  Tontileaugo  left  us,  Tecaughretanego  became 
lame,  and  could  scarcely  walk  out  of  our  hut  for  two  months. 
I  had  considerable  success  in  hunting  and  trapping.  Though 
Tecaughretanego  endured  much  pain  and  misery,  yet  he  bore 
it  all  with  wonderful  patience,  and  would  often  endeavor  to 
entertain  me  with  cheerful  conversation.  Sometimes  he  would 
applaud  me  for  my  diligence,  skill  and  activity  ;  and  at  other 
times  he  would  take  great  care  in  giving  me  instructions  con 
cerning  the  hunting  and  trapping  business.  He  would  also 
tell  me  that  if  I  failed  of  success  we  would  suffer  very  much, 
as  we  were  about  forty  miles  from  any  one  living,  that  we  knew 
of;  yet  he  would  not  intimate  that  he  apprehended  we  were  in 
any  danger,  but  still  supposed  that  I  was  fully  adequate  to  the 
task. 

Tontileaugo  left  us  a  little  before  Christmas,  and  from  that 
until  some  time  in  February  we  had  always  plenty  of  bear 
jneat,  venison,  &c.  During  this  time  I  killed  much  more  than 
we  could  use,  but  having  no  horses  to  carry  in  what  I  killed,  I 
eft  part  of  it  in  the  woods.  In  February,  there  came  a  snow, 
with  a  crust,  which  made  a  great  noise  when  walking  on  it, 
and  frightened  away  the  deer ;  and  as  bear  and  beaver  were 
scarce  here,  we  got  entirely  out  of  provision.  After  I  had 
hunted  two  days  without  eating  any  thing,  and  had  very  short 
allowance  for  some  days  before,  I  returned  late  in  the  evening, 
faint  and  weary.  When  I  came  into  our  hut,  Tecaughretane- 

fo  asked  what  success.  I  told  him  not  any.  He  asked  me  if 
was  not  very  hungry.  I  replied  that  the  keen  appetite  seem 
ed  to  be  in  some  measure  removed,  but  I  was  both  faint  and 
weary.  He  commanded  Nunganey,  his  little  son,  to  bring  me 
something  to  eat,  and  he  brought  me  a  kettle  with  some  bones 
and  broth.  After  eating  a  few  mouthfuls,  my  appetite  violently 
returned,  and  I  thought  the  victuals  had  a  most  agreeable  rel 
ish,  though  it  was  only  fox  and  wildcat  bones,  which  lay  about 
the  camp,  which  the  ravens  and  turkey-buzzards  had  picked ; 
these  Nunganey  had  collected  and  boiled,  until  the  sinews  that 
remained  on  the  bones  would  strip  off.  I  speedily  finished 
my  allowance,  such  as  it  was,  and  when  I  had  ended  rny  sweet 
repast,  Tecaughretanego  asked  me  how  I  felt.  I  told  him  that 
I  was  much  refreshed.  He  then  handed  me  his  pipe  and  pouch, 
and  told  me  to  take  a  smoke.  I  did  so.  He  then  said  he  had 
something  of  importance  to  tell  me,  if  I  was  now  composed 
and  ready  to  hear  it.  I  told  him  that  I  was  ready  to  hear  him. 
He  said  the  reason  why  he  deferred  his  speech  till  now  was 
because  few  men  are  in  a  right  humor  to  hear  good  talk  when 
they  are  extremely  hungry,  as  they  are  then  generally  fretful 
and  discomposed,  but  as  you  appear  now  to  enjoy  calmness 


COLONEL  SMITH'S   CAPTIVirV.  227 

and  serenity  of  mind,  I  will  now  communicate  t&  you  the 
thoughts  of  my  heart,  and  those  things  that  I  know  to  be  true. 

"  Brother, — As  you  have  lived  with  the  white  people,  you 
have  not  had  the  same  advantage  of  knowing  that  the  great 
Being  above  feeds  his  people,  and  gives  them  their  meat  in  due 
season,  as  we  Indians  have,  who  are  frequently  out  of  provi 
sions,  and  yet  are  wonderfully  supplied,  and  that  so  frequently, 
that  it  is  evidently  the  hand  of  the  great  Ovvaneeyo^  that  doth 
this.  Whereas  the  white  people  have  commonly  large  stocks 
of  tame  cattle,  that  they  can  kill  when  they  please,  and  also 
their  barns  and  cribs  filled  with  grain,  and  therefore  have  not 
the  same  opportunity  of  seeing  and  knowing  that  they  are 
supported  by  the  Ruler  of  heaven  and  earth. 

"  Brother, — I  know  that  you  are  now  afraid  that  we  will  all 
perish  with  hunger,  but  you  have  no  just  reason  to  fear  this. 

"  Brother, — I  have  been  young,  but  am  now  old ;  1  have 
been  frequently  under  the  like  circumstances  that  we  now  are, 
and  that  some  time  or  other  in  almost  every  year  of  my  life ; 
yet  I  have  hitherto  been  supported,  and  my  wants  supplied  in 
time  of  need. 

"  Brother, — Owaneeyo  sometimes  suffers  us  to  be  in  want, 
in  order  to  teach  us  our  dependence  upon  him,  and  to  let  us 
know  that  we  are  to  love  and  serve  him  ;  and  likewise  to  know 
the  worth  of  the  favors  that  we  receive,  and  to  make  us  more 
thankful. 

"  Brother, — Be  assured  that  you  will  be  supplied  with  food, 
and  that  just  in  the  right  time  ;  but  you  must  continue  diligent 
in  the  use  of  means.  Go  to  sleep,  and  rise  early  in  the  morn 
ing  and  go  a  hunting  ;  be  strong,  and  exert  yourself  like  a  man, 
and  the  Great  Spirit  will  direct  your  way." 

The  next  morning  I  went  out,  and  steered  about  an  east 
course.  I  proceeded  on  slowly  for  about  five  miles,  and  saw 
deer  frequently ;  but  as  the  crust  on  the  snow  made  a  great 
noise,  they  were  always  running  before  I  spied  them,  so  that  I 
could  not  get  a  shot.  A  violent  appetite  returned,  and  I  be 
came  intolerably  hungry.  It  was  now  that  I  concluded  I  would 
run  off  to  Pennsylvania,  my  native  country.  As  the  STOW  was 
on  the  ground,  and  Indian  hunters  almost  the  whole  of  the  way 
before  me,  I  had  but  a  poor  prospect  of  making  my  escape,  but 
my  case  appeared  desperate.  If  I  staid  here,  I  thought  I  would 

perish  with  hunger,  and  if  I  met  with  Indians  they  could  but 
i  -IT  J 

kill  me. 

I  then  proceeded  on  as  fast  as  I  could  walk,  and  when  I  got 

*  This  is  the  name  of  God,  in  their  tongue,  and  signifies  the  owner  aid 
ruler  of  all  things. 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

about  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  our  hut,  I  came  upon  fresh 
buffalo  tracks;  I  pursued  after,  and  in  a  short  time  came  in 
sight  of  them  as  they  were  passing  through  a  small  glade. 
I  ran  with  all  my  might  and  headed  them,  where  I  lay  in  am 
bush,  and  killed  a  very  large  cow.  I  immediately  kindled  a 
fire  and  began  to  roast  meat,  but  could  not  wait  till  it  was  done; 
I  ate  it  almost  raw.  When  hunger  was  abated,  I  began  to  be 
tenderly  concerned  for  my  old  Indian  brother  and  the  little  boy 
I  had  left  in  a  perishing  condition.  I  made  haste  and  packed 
up  what  meat  I  could  carry,  secured  what  I  left  from  the  wolves, 
and  returned  homewards. 

I  scarcely  thought  on  the  old  man's  speech  while  I  was 
almost  distracted  with  hunger,  but  on  my  return  was  much 
affected  with  it,  reflected  on  myself  for  my  hard-heartedness 
and  ingratitude,  in  attempting  to  run  off  and  leave  the  venera 
ble  old  man  and  little  boy  to  perish  with  hunger.  I  also  con 
sidered  how  remarkably  the  old  man's  speech  had  been  verified 
in  our  providentially  obtaining  a  supply.  I  thought  also  of 
that  part  of  his  speech  which  treated  of  the  fractious  disposi 
tions  of  hungry  people,  which  was  the  only  excuse  J  had  for 
my  base  inhumanity,  in  attempting  to  leave  them  in  the  most 
deplorable  situation. 

As  it  was  moonlight,  I  got  home  to  our  hut,  and  found  the 
old  man  in  his  usual  good  humor.  He  thanked  me  for  my 
exertion,  and  bid  me  sit  down,  as  I  must  certainly  be  fatigued, 
and  he  commanded  Nunganey  to  make  baste  and  cook.  I  told 
him  I  would  cook  for  him,  and  let  the  boy  lay  some  meat  on 
the  coals  for  himself;  which  he  did,  but  ate  it  almost  raw,  as 
I  had  done.  I  immediately  hung  on  the  kettle  with  some  wa 
ter,  and  cut  the  beef  in  thin  slices,  and  put  them  in.  When  it 
had  boiled  a  while,  I  proposed  taking  it  off  the  fire,  but  the  old 
man  replied,  "let  it  be  done  enough."  This  he  said  in  as 
patient  and  unconcerned  a  manner  as  if  he  hud  not  wanted 
one  single  rneal.  He  commanded  Nunganey  to  eat  no  more 
beef  at  that  time,  lest  he  might  hurt  himself,  but  told  him  to 
sit  down,  and  after  some  time  he  might  sup  some  broth;  this 
command  he  reluctantly  obeyed. 

When  we  were  all  refreshed,  Tecaughretanego  delivered  a 
speech  upon  the  necessity  and  pleasure  of  receiving  the  neces 
sary  supports  of  life  with  thankfulness,  knowing  that  Owanee- 
yo  is  the  great  giver.  Such  speeches  from  an  Indian  may  be 
thought  by  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  them  altogether 
incredible  ;  but  when  we  reflect  on  the  Indian  war,  we  may 
readily  conclude  that  they  are  not  an  ignorant  or  stupid  sort  of 
people,  or  they  would  not  have  been  such  fatal  enemies.  When 
they  came  into  our  country  they  outwitted  us ;  arid  when  we 


COLONEL  SMITH'S   CAPTIVITY.  229 

sent  armies  into  their  country,  they  outgeneralled  and  beat  us 
with  inferior  force.  Let  us  also  take  into  consideration  that 
Tecaughretanego  was  no  common  person,  but  was  among  the 
Indians  as  Socrates  in  the  ancient  heathen  world  ;  and  it  may 
be  equal  to  him,  if  not  in  wisdom  and  in  learning,  yet  perhaps 
in  p;iiienceand  fortitude.  Notwithstanding  Tecaughretanego's 
uncommon  natural  abilities,  yet  in  the  sequel  of  this  history 
you  will  see  the  deficiency  of  the  light  of  nature,  unaided  by 
revelation,  in  this  truly  great  man. 

The  next  morning  Tecaughretanego  desired  me  to  go  back 
and  bring  another  load  of  buffalo  beef.  As  I  proceeded  to  do 
so,  about  five  miles  from  our  hut  I  found  a  bear  tree.  As  a 
sapling  grew  near  the  tree,  and  reached  near  the  hole  that  the 
bear  went  in  at.  I  got  dry  dozed  or  rotten  wood,  that  would 
catch  and  hold  fire  almost  as  well  as  spunk.  This  wood  I  tied 
up  in  bunches,  fixed  them  on  my  back,  and  then  climbed  up 
the  sapling,  and  with  a  pole  I  put  them,  touched  with  fire,  into 
the  hole,  and  then  came  down  and  took  my  gun  in  my  hand. 
After  some  time  the  bear  came  out,  and  I  killed  and  skinned 
it,  packed  up  a  load  of  the  meat,  (after  securing  the  remainder 
from  the  wolves,)  and  returned  home  before  night.  On  my 
return,  my  old  brother  and  his  son  were  much  rejoiced  at  my 
success.  After  this  we  had  plenty  of  provisions. 

We  remained  here  until  some  time  in  April,  1758.  At  this 
time  Tecaugretanego  had  recovered  so  that  he  could  walk  about. 
We  made  a  bark  canoe,  embarked,  and  went  down  Ollentangy 
some  distance,  but  the  water  being  low,  we  were  in  danger  of 
splitting  our  canoe  upon  the  rocks  ;  therefore  Tecaughretan 
ego  concluded  we  would  encamp  on  shore,  and  pray  for  rain. 

When  we  encamped  Tecaughretanego  made  himself  a  sweat 
house,  which  he  did  by  sticking  a  number  of  hoops  in  the 
ground,  each  hoop  forming  a  semicircle;  this  he  covered  all 
round  with  blankets  and  skins.  He  then  prepared  hot  stones, 
which  he  rolled  into  this  hut,  and  then  went  into  it  himself 
with  a  little  kettle  of  water  in  his  hand,  mixed  with  a  variety 
of  herbs,  which  he  had  formerly  cured,  and  had  now  with  him 
in  his  pack  ;  they  afforded  an  odoriferous  perfume.  When  he 
was  in,  he  told  me  to  pull  down  the  blankets  behind  him,  and 
cover  all  up  close,  which  I  did,  and  then  he  be^an  to  pour 
water  upon  the  hot  stones,  and  to  sing  aloud.  He  continued 
in  this  vehement  hot  place  about  fifteen  minutes.  All  this  he 
did  in  order  to  purify  himself  before  he  would  address  the 
Supreme  Being.  When  he  came  out  of  his  sweat  house,  he 
began  to  burn  tobacco  and  pray.  He  began  each  petition  with 
oh,  ho,  ho,  ho,  which  is  a  kind  of  aspiration,  and  signifies  an 
ardent  wish.  I  observed  that  all  his  petitions  were  only  for 
20 


230  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

immediate  or  present  temporal  blessings.     He  began  his  ad 
dress  by  thanksgiving  in  the  following  manner : 

"  O  Great  Being !  I  thank  thee  that  I  have  obtained  the 
use  of  my  legs  again  ;  that  I  am  now  able  to  walk  about  and 
kill  turkeys,  &c.  without  feeling  exquisite  pain  and  misery. 
I  know  that  thou  art  a  hearer  and  a  helper,  and  therefore  I  will 
call  upon  thee. 

"  Oh,  ho,  ho,  ho, 

"  Grant  that  my  knees  and  ankles  may  be  right  well,  and 
that  1  may  be  able,  not  only  to  walk,  but  to  run  and  to  jump 
logs,  as  I  did  last  fall. 

"  Oh,  ho,  ho,  ho, 

"  Grant  that  on  this  voyage  we  may  frequently  kill  bears,  as 
they  may  be  crossing  the  Sciota  and  Sandusky. 

"  Oh,  ho,  ho,  ho, 

"  Grant  that  we  may  kill  plenty  of  turkeys  along  the  banks, 
to  stew  with  our  fat  bear  meat. 

"  Oh,  ho,  ho,  ho, 

"  Grant  that  rain  may  come  to  raise  the  Ollentangy  about 
two  or  three  feet,  that  we  may  cross  in  safety  down  to  Sciota, 
without  danger  of  our  canoe  being  wrecked  on  the  rocks. 
And  now,  O  Great  Being!  thou  knowest  how  matters  stand; 
thou  knowest  that  I  am  a  great  lover  of  tobacco,  and  though  I 
know  not  when  I  may  get  any  more,  I  now  make  a  present  of 
the  last  I  have  unto  thee,  as  a  free  burnt  offering ;  therefore  I 
expect  thou  wilt  hear  and  grant  these  requests,  and  I,  thy  ser 
vant,  will  return  thee  thanks,  and  love  thee  for  thy  gifts." 

During  the  whole  of  this  scene  I  sat  by  Tecaughretanego, 
and  as  he  went  through  it  with  the  greatest  solemnity,  I  was 
seriously  affected  with  his  prayers.  I  remained  duly  com 
posed  until  he  came  to  the  burning  of  the  tobacco ;  and  as  I 
knew  that  he  was  a  great  lover  of  it,  and  saw  him  cast  the  last 
of  it  into  the  fire,  it  excited  in  me  a  kind  of  merriment,  and 
I  insensibly  smiled.  Tecaughretanego  observed  me  laughing, 
which  displeased  him,  and  occasioned  him  to  address  me  in 
the  following  manner. 

"  Brother :  I  have  somewhat  to  say  to  you,  and  I  hope  you 
will  not  be  offended  when  I  tell  you  of  your  faults.  You 
know  that  when  you  were  reading  your  books  in  town  I  would 
not  let  the  boys  or  any  one  disturb  you ;  but  now,  when  I  was 
praying,  I  saw  you  laughing.  I  do  not  think  that  you  look 
upon  praying  as  a  foolish  thing ;  I  believe  you  pray  yourself. 
But  perhaps  you  may  think  my  mode  or  manner  of  praying 
foolish ;  if  so,  you  ought  in  a  friendly  manner  to  instruct  me, 
and  not  make  sport  of  sacred  things." 

I  acknowledged  my  error,  and  on  this  he  handed  me  his 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY.  231 

pipe  to  smoke,  in  token  of  friendship  and  reconciliation,  though 
at  this  time  he  had  nothing  to  smoke  but  red  willow  hark.  I 
told  him  something  of  the  method  of  reconciliation  with  an 
offended  God,  as  revealed  in  my  Bible,  which  I  had  then  in 
possession.  He  said  that  he  liked  my  story  better  than  that 
of  the  French  priests,  but  he  thought  that  he  was  now  too  old 
to  begin  to  learn  a  new  religion,  therefore  he  should  continue 
to  worship  God  in  the  way  that  he  had  been  taught,  and  that 
if  salvation  or  future  happiness  was  to  be  had  in  his  way  of 
worship,  he  expected  he  would  obtain  it,  and  if  it  was  incon 
sistent  with  the  honor  of  the  Great  Spirit  to  accept  of  him  in 
his  own  way  of  worship,  he  hoped  that  Owaneeyo  would 
accept  of  him  in  the  way  I  had  mentioned,  or  in  some  other 
way,  though  he  might  now  be  ignorant  of  the  channel  through 
which  favor  or  mercy  might  be  conveyed.  He  said  that  he 
believed  that  Owaneeyo  would  hear  and  help  every  one  that 
sincerely  waited  upon  him. 

Here  we  may  see  how  far  the  light  of  nature  could  go;  per 
haps  we  see  it  here  almost  in  its  highest  extent.  Notwith 
standing  the  just  views  that  this  great  man  entertained  of 
Providence,  yet  we  now  see  him  (though  he  acknowledged  his 
guilt)  expecting  to  appease  the  Deity,  and  procure  his  favor, 
by  burning  a  little  tobacco.  We  may  observe  that  all  heathen 
nations,  as  far  as  we  can  find  out  either  by  tradition  or  the 
light  of  nature,  agree  with  revelation  in  this,  that  sacrifice  is 
necessary,  or  that  some  kind  of  atonement  is  to  be  made  in 
order  to  remove  guilt  and  reconcile  them  to  God.  This, 
accompanied  with  numberless  other  witnesses,  is  sufficient 
evidence  of  the  rationality  of  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures. 

A  few  days  after  Tecaughretanego  had  gone  through  his 
ceremonies  and  finished  his  prayers,  the  rain  came  and  raised 
the  creek  a  sufficient  height,  so  that  we  passed  in  safety  down 
to  Sciota,  and  proceeded  up  to  the  carrying  place.  Let  us 
now  describe  the  land  on  this  route  from  our  winter  hut,  and 
down  Ollentangy  to  the  Sciota,  and  up  it  to  the  carrying  place. 

About  our  winter  cabin  is  chiefly  first  and  second  rate  land. 
A  considerable  way  up  Ollentangy,  on  the  south-west  side 
thereof,  or  betwixt  it  and  the  Miami,  there  is  a  very  large 
prairie,  and  from  this  prairie  down  Ollentangy  to  Sciota  is 
generally  first  rate  land.  The  timber  is  walnut,  sugar-tree, 
ash,  buckeye,  locust,  wild  cherry,  and  spice-wood,  intermixed 
with  some  oak  and  beech.  From  the  mouth  of  Ollentangy, 
on  the  east  side  of  Sciota,  up  to  the  carrying  place,  there  is  a 
large  body  of  first  and  second  rate  land,  and  tolerably  well 
watered.  The  timber  is  ash,  sugar-tree,  walnut,  locust,  oak, 
and  beech.  Up  near  the  carrying  place  the  land  is  a  little 


25 


232  COLONEL  SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

hilly,  but  the  soil  good.  We  proceeded  from  this  place  down 
Sandusky,  and  in  our  passage  we  kilkd  four  bears  and  a 
number  of  turkeys.  Tecaughretanego  appeared  now  fully 
persuaded  that  all  this  came  in  answer  to  his  prayers,  and  who 
can  say  with  any  degree  of  certainty  that  it  was  not  so  ? 

When  we  came  to  the  little  lake  at  the  mouth  of  Sandusky, 
we  called  at  a  Wyandot  town  that  was  then  there,  called 
Sunyendeand.  Here  we  diverted  ourselves  several  days  by 
catching  rock  fish  in  a  small  creek,  the  name  of  which  is  also 
Sunyendeand,  which  signifies  rock  fish.  They  fished  in  the 
night  with  lights,  and  struck  the  fish  with  gigs  or  spears.  The 
rock  fish  here,  when  they  begin  first  to  run  up  the  creek  to 
spawn,  are  exceedingly  fat,  sufficiently  so  to  fry  themselves. 
The  first  night  we  scarcely  caught  fish  enough  for  present 
use  for  all  that  was  in  the  town. 

The  next  morning  I  met  with  a  prisoner  at  this  place  by 
the  name  of  Thompson,  who  had  been  taken  from  Virginia. 
He  told  me,  if  the  Indians  would  only  omit  disturbing  the  fish 
for  one  night,  he  could  catch  more  fish  than  the  whole  town 
could  make  use  of.  I  told  Mr.  Thompson  that  if  he  was  cer 
tain  he  could  do  this,  that  I  would  use  my  influence  with  the 
Indians  to  let  the  fish  alone  for  one  night.  I  applied  to  the 
chiefs,  who  agreed  to  my  proposal,  and  said  they  were  anxious 
to  see  what  the  Great  Knife  (as  they  called  the  Virginian) 
could  do.  Mr.  Thompson,  with  the  assistance  of  some  other 
prisoners,  set  to  work,  and  made  a  hoop-net  of  elm  bark ;  they 
then  cut  down  a  tree  across  the  creek,  and  stuck  in  stakes  at 
the  lower  side  of  it  to  prevent  the  fish  from  passing  up,  leaving 
only  a  gap  at  the  one  side  of  the  creek ;  here  he  sat  with  his 
net,  and  when  he  felt  the  fish  touch  the  net  he  drew  it  up,  and 
frequently  would  haul  out  two  or  three  rock  fish  that  would 
weigh  about  five  or  six  pounds  each.  He  continued  at  this 
until  he  had  hauled  out  about  a  wagon  load,  and  then  left  the 
gap  open  in  order  to  let  them  pass  up,  for  they  could  not  go 
far  on  account  of  the  shallow  water.  Before  day  Mr.  Thomp 
son  shut  it  up,  to  prevent  them  from  passing  down,  in  order  to 
let  the  Indians  have  some  diversion  in  killing  them  in  daylight. 

When  the  news  of  the  fish  came  to  town,  the  Indians  all 
collected,  and  with  surprise  beheld  the  large  heap  of  fish,  and 
applauded  the  ingenuity  of  the  Virginian.  When  they  saw 
the  number  of  them  that  were  confined  in  the  water  above  the 
tree,  the  young  Indians  ran  back  to  the  town,  and  in  a  short 
time  returned  with  their  spears,  gigs,  bows  and  arrows,  &c., 
and  were  the  chief  part  of  that  day  engaged  in  killing  rock 
fish,  insomuch  that  we  had  more  than  we  could  use  or  pre 
serve.  As  we  had  no  salt,  or  any  way  to  keep  then,  they  lay 


COLONEL  SMITH'S   CAPTIVITY. 

upon  the  banks,  and  after  some  time  great  numbers  of  turkey- 
buzzards  and  eagles  collected  together  and  devoured  them. 

Shortly  after  this  we  left  Sunyendeand,  and  in  three  days 
arrived  at  Detroit,  where  we  remained  this  summer. 

Some  time  in  May  we  heard  that  General  Forbes,  with 
seven  thousand  men,  was  preparing  to  carry  on  a  campaign 
against  fort  Du  Quesne,  which  then  stood  near  where  fort 
Pitt  was  afterwards  erected.  Upon  receiving  this  news,  a 
number  of  runners  were  sent  off  by  the  French  commander  at 
Detroit  to  urge  the  different  tribes  of  Indian  warriors  to  repair 
to  fort  Du  Quesne. 

Some  time  in  July,  1758,  the  Ottawas,  Jibewas,  Potowato- 
mies,  and  Wyandots,  rendezvoused  at  Detroit,  and  marched  off 
to  fort  Du  Quesne,  to  prepare  for  the  encounter  of  General 
Forbes.  The  common  report  was  that  they  would  serve  him 
as  they  did  General  Braddock,  and  obtain  much  plunder. 
From  this  time  until  fall,  we  had  frequent  accounts  of  Forbes's 
army,  by  Indian  runners  that  were  sent  out  to  watch  their 
motion.  They  espied  them  frequently  from  the  mountains 
ever  after  they  left  fort  Loudon.  Notwithstanding  their  vigi 
lance,  Colonel  Grant,  with  his  Highlanders,  stole  a  march  upon 
them,  and  in  the  night  took  possession  of  a  hill  about  eighty 
rods  from  fort  Du  Quesne ;  this  hill  is  on  that  account  called 
Grant's  Hill  to  this  day.  The  French  and  Indians  knew  not 
that  Grant  and  his  men  were  there,  until  they  beat  the  drum 
and  played  upon  the  bagpipes  just  at  daylight.  They  then 
flew  to  arms,  and  the  Indians  ran  up  under  cover  of  the  banks 
of  Alleghany  and  Monongahela  for  some  distance,  and  then 
sallied  out  from  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  and  took  possession  of 
the  hill  above  Grant ;  and  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  it,  in  sight 
of  the  fort,  they  immediately  surrounded  him,  and  as  he  had 
his  Highlanders  in  ranks,  and  in  very  close  order,  and  the 
Indians  scattered  and  concealed  behind  trees,  they  defeated 
him  with  the  loss  only  of  a  few  warriors ;  most  of  the  High 
landers  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners. 

After  this  defeat  the  Indians  held  a  council,  but  were  divided 
in  their  opinions.  Some  said  that  General  Forbes  would  now 
turn  back,  and  go  home  the  way  that  he  came,  as  Dunbar  had 
done  when  General  Braddock  was  defeated ;  others  supposed 
he  would  come  on.  The  French  urged  the  Indians  to  stay 
and  see  the  event ;  but  as  it  was  hard  for  the  Indians  to  be 
absent  from  their  squaws  and  children  at  this  season  of  the 
year,  a  great  many  of  them  returned  home  to  their  hunting. 
After  this,  the  remainder  of  the  Indians,  some  French  regulars, 
and  a  number  of  Canadians,  marched  off  in  quest  of  General 
Forbes.  They  met  his  army  near  fort  Ligoneer,  and  attacked 
20* 


234  COLONEL   SMITH'S  CAPTIVITY. 

hem,  but  were  frustrated  in  their  design.  They  said  that 
Forbes's  men  were  beginning  to  learn  the  art  of  war,  and  that 
there  were  a  great  number  of  American  riflemen  along  with 
the  red-coats,  who  scattered  out,  took  trees,  and  were  good 
marksmen ;  therefore  they  found  they  could  not  accomplish 
their  design,  and  were  obliged  to  retreat.  When  they  returned 
from  the  battle  to  fort  Du  Quesne,  the  Indians  concluded  that 
they  woulji  go  to  their  hunting.  The  French  endeavored  to 
persuade  them  to  stay  and  try  another  battle.  The  Indians 
said  if  it  was  only  the  red-coats  they  had  to  do  with,  they 
could  soon  subdue  them,  but  they  could  not  withstand  Asha- 
lecoa,  or  the  Great  Knife,  which  was  the  name  they  gave  the 
Virginians.  They  then  returned  home  to  their  hunting,  and 
the  French  evacuated  the  fort,  which  General  Forbes  came 
and  took  possession  of,  without  further  opposition,  late  in  the 
year  1758,  and  at  this  time  began  to  build  fort  Pitt. 

When  Tecaughretanego  had  heard  the  particulars  of  Grant's 
defeat,  he  said  that  he  could  not  well  account  for  his  contra 
dictory  and  inconsistent  conduct.  He  said,  as  the  art  of  war 
consists  in  ambushing  and  surprising  our  enemies,  and  in 
preventing  them  from  ambushing  and  surprising  us,  Grant,  in 
the  first  place,  acted  like  a  wise  and  experienced  warrior  in 
artfully  approaching  in  the  night  without  being  discovered; 
but  when  he  came  to  the  place,  and  the  Indians  were  lying 
asleep  outside  of  the  fort,  between  him  and  the  Alleghany 
river,  in  place  of  slipping  up  quietly,  and  falling  upon  them 
with  their  broadswords,  they  beat  the  drums  and  played  upon 
the  bagpipes.  He  said  he  could  account  for  this  inconsistent 
conduct  no  other  way  than  by  supposing  that  he  had  made  too 
free  with  spirituous  liquors  during  the  night,  and  became 
intoxicated  about  daylight.  But  to  return. 

This  year  we  hunted  up  Sandusky  and  down  Sciota,  and 
took  nearly  the  same  route  that  we  had  done  the  last  hunting 
season.  We  had  considerable  success,  and  returned  to  Detroit 
some  time  in  April,  1759. 

Shortly  after  this,  Tecaughretanego,  his  son  Nungany  and 
myself,  went  from  Detroit  (in  an  elm-bark  canoe)  to  Caughne- 
waga,  a  very  ancient  Indian  town,  about  nine  miles  above 
Montreal,  where  I  remained  until  about  the  first  of  July.  I 
then  heard  of  a  French  ship  at  Montreal  that  had  English 
prisoners  on  board,  in  order  to  carry  them  over  sea  and  ex 
change  them.  I  went  privately  off  from  tbe  Indians,  and  got 
also  on  board  ;  but  as  General  Wolfe  had  stopped  the  river  St. 
Lawrence  we  were  all  sent  to  prison  in  Montreal,  where  I 
remained  four  months.  Some  time  in  November  we  were  all 
sent  off  from  this  place  to  Crown  Point,  and  exchanged. 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES.       235 

Early  in  the  year  1760, 1  came  home  to  Conococheague,  and 
found  that  my  people  could  never  ascertain  whether  I  was 
killed  or  taken  until  my  return.  They  received  me  with  great 
joy,  but  were  surprised  to  see  me  so  much  like  an  Indian  both 
in  my  gait  and  gesture. 

Upon  inquiry,  I  found  that  my  sweetheart  was  married  a 
few  days  before  I  arrived.  My  feelings  I  must  leave  on  this 
occasion  for  those  of  my  readers  to  judge  who  have  felt  the 
pangs  of  disappointed  love,  as  it  is  impossible  now  for  me  to 
describe  the  emotion  of  soul  I  felt  at  that  time. 

Now  there  was  peace  with  the  Indians,  which  lasted  until 
the  year  1763.  Some  time  in  May,  this  year,  I  married,  and 
about  that  time  the  Indians  again  commenced  hostilities,  and 
were  busily  engaged  in  killing  and  scalping  the  frontier  inha 
bitants  in  various  parts  of  Pennsylvania.  The  whole  Cono 
cocheague  valley,  from  the  North  to  the  South  Mountain,  had 
been  almost  entirely  evacuated  during  Braddock's  war.  This 
state  was  then  a  Quaker  government,  and  at  the  first  of  this 
war  the  frontiers  received  no  assistance  from  the  state.  As 
the  people  were  now  beginning  to  live  at  home  again,  they 
thought  it  hard  to  be  drove  away  a  second  time,  and  were 
determined,  if  possible,  to  make  a  stand ;  therefore  they  raised 
as  much  money  by  collections  and  subscriptions  as  would  pay 
a  company  of  riflemen  for  several  months.  The  subscribers 
met,  and  elected  a  committee  to  manage  the  business.  The 
committee  appointed  me  captain  of  this  company  of  rangers, 
and  gave  me  the  appointment  of  my  subalterns.  I  chose  two 
of  the  most  active  young  men  that  I  could  find,  who  had  also 
been  long  in  captivity  with  the  Indians.  As  we  enlisted  our 
men,  we  dressed  them  uniformly  in  the  Indian  manner,  with 
breech-clouts,  leggins,  moccasins,  and  green  .shrouds,  which 
we  wore  in  the  same  manner  that  the  Indians  do,  and  nearly 
as  the  Highlanders  wear  their  plaids.  In  place  of  hats  we 
wore  red  handkerchiefs,  and  painted  our  faces  red  and  black 
like  Indian  warriors.  I  taught  them  the  Indian  discipline,  as 
I  knew  of  no  other  at  that  time,  which  would  answer  the  jj 

purpose  much  better  than  British.  We  succeeded  beyond 
expectation  in  defending  the  frontiers,  and  were  extolled  by 
our  employers.  Near  the  conclusion  of  this  expedition  I 
accepted  of  an  ensign's  commission  in  the  regular  service, 
under  King  George,  in  what  was  then  called  the.  ^Pennsylvania 
line.  Upon  my  resignation,  my  lieutenant  succeeded  me  in 
command  the  rest  of  the  time  they  were  to  serve.  In  the 
fall  (the  same  year)  I  went  on  the  Susquehanna  campaign 
against  the  Indians,  under  the  command  of  General  Armstrong. 
In  this  route  we  burnt  the  Delaware  and  Monsey  towns,  on 


236  COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

vhe  west  branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  destroyed  all  their 
corn. 

In  the  year  1764  I  received  a  lieutenant's  commission,  and 
went  out  on  General  Bouquet's  campaign  against  the  Indians 
on  the  Muskingum.  Here  we  brought  them  to  terms,  and 
promised  to  be  at  peace  with  them,  upon  condition  that  they 
would  give  up  all  our  people  that  they  had  then  in  captivity 
among  them.  They  then  delivered  unto  us  three  hundred  of 
the  prisoners,  and  said  that  they  could  not  collect  them  all  at 
this  time,  as  it  was  now  late  in  the  year,  and  they  were  far 
scattered ;  but  they  promised  that  they  would  bring  them  all 
into  fort  Pitt  early  next  spring,  and  as  security  that  they 
would  do  this,  they  delivered  to  us  six  of  their  chiefs  as  hos 
tages.  Upon  this  we  settled  a  cessation  of  arms  for  six  months, 
and  promised,  upon  their  fulfilling  the  aforesaid  condition,  to 
make  with  them  a  permanent  peace. 

A  little  below  fort  Pitt  the  hostages  all  made  their  escape. 
Shortly  after  this  the  Indians  stole  horses  and  killed  some  peo 
ple  on  the  frontiers.  The  king's  proclamation  was  then  circu 
lating  and  set  up  in  various  public  places,  prohibiting  any  per 
son  from  trading  with  the  Indians  until  further  orders. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  about  the  first  of  March,  1765,  a 
number  of  wagons,  loaded  with  Indian  goods  and  warlike 
stores,  were  sent  from  Philadelphia  to  Henry  Pollens,  Cono- 
cocheague,  and  from  thence  seventy  pack  horses  were  loaded 
with  these  goods,  in  order  to  carry  them  to  fort  Pitt.  This 
alarmed  the  country,  and  Mr.  William  Duffield  raised  about 
fifty  armed  men,  and  met  the  pack  horses  at  the  place  where 
Mercersburg  now  stands.  Mr.  Duffield  desired  the  employers  to 
store  up  their  goods,  and  not  proceed  until  further  orders.  *  They 
made  light  of  this,  and  went  over  the  North  Mountain,  where 
they  lodged  in  a  small  valley  called  the  Great  Cove.  Mr.  Duf 
field  and  his  party  followed  after,  and  came  to  their  lodging,  and 
again  urged  them  to  store  up  their  goods ;  he  reasoned  with  them 
on  the  impropriety  of  the  proceedings,  and  the  great  dangei 
the  frontier  inhabitants  would  be  exposed  to,  if  the  Indians  should 
now  get  a  supply  :  he  said,  as  it  was  well  known  that  they 
had  scarcely  any  ammunition,  and  were  almost  naked,  to  supply 
them  now  would  be  a  kind  of  murder,  and  would  be  illegally 
trading  at  the  expense  of  the  blood  and  treasure  of  the  fron 
tiers.  Notwithstanding  his  powerful  reasoning,  these  traders 
made  game  of  what  he  said,  and  would  only  answer  him  by 
ludicrous  burlesque. 

When  I  beheld  this,  and  found  that  Mr.  Duffield  would  not 
compel  them  to  store  up  their  goods,  I  collected  ten  of  my  old 
warriors,  that  I  had  formerly  disciplined  in  the  Indian  way,  went 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES.        237 

off  privately  after  night,  and  encamped  in  the  woods.  The 
next  day,  as  usual,  we  blacked  and  painted,  and  waylaid  them 
near  Sidelong  Hill.  I  scattered  my  men  about  forty  rod  along 
the  side  of  the  road,  and  ordered  every  two  to  take  a  tree,  and 
about  eight  or  ten  rod  between  each  couple,  with  orders  to 
keep  a  reserve  fire,  one  not  to  fire  until  his  comrade  had  loaded 
his  gun ;  by  this  means  we  kept  up  a  constant,  slow  fire  upon 
them,  from  front  to  rear.  We  then  heard  nothing  of  these  tra 
ders'  merriment  or  burlesque.  When  they  saw  their  pack- 
horses  falling  close  by  them,  they  called  out,  pray,  gentlemen^ 
what  would  you  have  us  to  do  ?  The  reply  was,  collect  all  your 
loads  to  the  front,  and  unload  them  in  one  place  ;  take  your 
private  property,  and  immediately  retire.  When  they  were 
gone,  we  burnt  what  they  left,  which  consisted  of  blankets, 
shirts,  vermillion,  lead  beads,  wampum,  tomahawks,  scalping- 
knives,  &c. 

The  traders  went  back  to  fort  Loudon,  and  applied  to  the 
commanding  officer  there,  and  got  a  party  of  Highland  soldiers, 
and  went  with  them  in  quest  of  the  robbers,  as  they  called  us ; 
and  without  applying  to  a  magistrate,  or  obtaining  any  civil 
authority,  but  barely  upon  suspicion,  they  took  a  number  of 
creditable  persons  prisoners,  (who  were  chiefly  not  any  way 
concerned  in  this  action,)  and  confined  them  in  the  guard 
house  in  fort  Loudon.  I  then  raised  three  hundred  riflemen, 
marched  to  fort  Loudon,  and  encamped  on  a  hill  in  sight  of 
the  fort.  We  were  not  long  there,  until  we  had  more  than 
double  as  many  of  the  British  troops  prisoners  in  our  camp 
as  they  had  of  our  people  in  the  guard-house.  Captain  Grant, 
a  Highland  officer,  who  commanded  fort  Loudon,  then  sent  a 
flag  of  truce  to  our  camp,  where  we  settled  a  cartel,  and  gave 
them  above  two  for  one,  which  enabled  us  to  redeem  all  our 
men  from  the  guard-house,  without  further  difficulty. 

After  this,  Captain  Grant  kept  a  number  of  rifle  guns  which 
the  Highlanders  had  taken  from  the  country  people,  and  refused 
to  give  them  up.  As  he  was  riding  out  one  day,  we  took  him 
prisoner,  and  detained  him  until  he  delivered  up  the  arms ; 
we  also  destroyed  a  large  quantity  of  gunpowder  that  the  tra 
ders  had  stored  up,  lest  it  might  be  conveyed  privately  to  the 
Indians.  The  king's  troops  and  our  party  had  now  got  entirely 
out  of  the  channel  of  the  civil  law,  and  many  unjustifiable 
things  were  done  by  both  parties.  This  convinced  me  more 
than  ever  I  had  been  before  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  the 
civil  law  in  order  to  govern  mankind. 

About  this   time  the  following  song  was  composed  by  Mr 
George  Campbell,  (an   Irish  gentleman,  who  had  been  edu 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

cated  in  Dublin,)  and  was  frequently  sung  to  the  tune  of  the 
Black  Joke. 

Ye  patriot  souls,  who  love  to  sing, 
Who  serve  your  country  and  your  king, 

In  wealth,  peace  and  royal  estate  : 
Attention  give  whilst  I  rehearse 
A  modern  fact  in  jingling  verse, 
How  party  interest  strove  what  it  could 
To  profit  itself  by  public  blood, 

But  justly  met  its  merited  fate. 

Let  all  those  Indian  traders  claim  •:   < 

Their  just  reward,  inglorious  fame, 

For  vile,  base  and  treacherous  ends. 
To  Pollens,  in  the  spring,  they  sent 
Much  warlike  stores,  with  an  intent 
To  carry  them  to  our  barbarous  foes, 
Expecting  that  nobody  dare  oppose, 

A  present  to  their  Indian  friends. 

Astonish'd  at  the  wild  design, 
Frontier  inhabitants  combin'd 

With  brave  souls  to  stop  their  career , 
Although  some  men  apostatiz'd, 
Who  first  the  grand  attempt  advis'd, 
The  bold  frontiers  they  bravely  stood, 
To  act  for  their  king  and  their  country's  good 

In  joint  league,  and  strangers  to  fear. 
'•-.\  ' 

On  March  the  fifth,  in  sixty-five, 
The  Indian  presents  did  arrive, 

In  long  pomp  and  cavalcade, 
Near  Sidelong  Hill,  where  in  disguise 
Some  patriots  did  their  train  surprise, 
And  quick  as  lightning  tumbled  their  loads, 
And  kindled  them  bonfires  in  the  woods, 

And  mostly  burnt  their  whole  brigade. 

At  London  when  they  heard  the  news, 
They  scarcely  knew  which  way  to  choose, 

For  blind  rage  and  discontent ; 
At  length  some  soldiers  they  sent  out, 
With  guides  for  to  conduct  the  route, 
And  seized  some  men  that  were  trav'ling  there. 
And  hurried  them  into  Loudon,  where 

They  laid  them  fast  with  one  consent. 

But  men  of  resolution  thought 

Too  much  to  see  their  neighbors  caught 

For  no  crime  but  false  surmise  ; 
Forthwith  they  join'd  a  warlike  band, 
And  march'd  to  Loudon  out  of  hand, 
And  kept  the  jailers  pns'ners  there, 
Until  our  friends  enlarged  were, 

Without  fraud  or  any  disguise. 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES.       239 

Let  mankind  censure  or  commend 
This  rash  performance  in  the  end, 

Then  both  sides  will  find  their  account. 
'Tis  true  no  law  can  justify 
To  burn  our  neighbor's  property, 
But  when  this  property  is  design'd 
To  serve  the  enemies  of  mankind, 

It's  high  treason  in  the  amount. 

After  this,  we  kept  up  a  guard  of  men  on  the  frontiers,  foi 
several  months,  to  prevent  supplies  being  sent  to  the  Indians, 
until  it  was  proclaimed  that  Sir  William  Johnson  had  made 
peace  with  them,  and  then  we  let  the  traders  pass  unmolested. 

In  the  year  1766,  I  heard  that  Sir  William  Johnson,  the 
king's  agent  for  settling  affairs  with  the  Indians,  had  purchased 
from  them  all  the  land  west  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains  that 
lay  between  the  Ohio  and  Cherokee  river ;  and  as  I  knew  by 
conversing  with  the  Indians  in  their  own  tongue  that  there 
was  a  large  body  of  rich  land  there,  I  concluded  I  would  take 
a  tour  westward  and  explore  that  coantry. 

I  set  out  about  the  last  of  June,  3766,  and  went  in  the  first 
place  to  Hoi  stein  river,  and  from  thence  I  travelled  westward 
in  company  with  Joshua  Horton,  Uriah  Stone,  William  Baker 
and  James  Smith,  who  came  from  near  Carlisle.  There  were 
only  four  white  men  of  us,  and  a  mulatto  slave  about  eigh 
teen  years  of  age,  that  Mr.  Horton  had  with  him.  We  ex 
plored  the  country  south  of  Kentucky,  and  there  was  no  more 
sign  of  white  men  there  then  than  there  is  now  west  of  the 
head  waters  of  the  Missouri.  We  also  explored  Cumberland 
and  Tennessee  rivers,  from  S-tone's^  river  down  to  the  Ohio. 

When  we  came  to  the  mouth  of  Tennessee,  my  fellow- 
travellers  concluded  that  they  would  proceed  on  to  the  Illinois, 
and  see  some  more  of  the  land  to  the  west ;  this  I  would  not 
agree  to.  As  I  had  already  been  longer  from  home  than  what 
I  expected,  I  thought  my  wife  would  be  distressed,  and  think  I 
was  killed  by  the  Indians ;  therefore  I  concluded  that  I  would 
return  home.  I  sent  my  horse  with  my  fellow-travellers  to 
the  Illinois,  as  it  was  difficult  to  take  a  horse  through  the 
mountains.  My  comrades  gave  me  the  greatest  part  of  the 
ammunition  they  then  had,  which  amounted  only  to  half  a  pound 
of  powder,  and  lead  equivalent.  Mr.  Horton  also  lent  me  his 
mulatto  boy,  and  I  then  set  off  through  the  wilderness  for  Caro 
lina. 

*  Stone's  river  is  a  south  branch  of  Cumberland,  and  empties  into  it 
above  Nashville.  We  first  gave  it  this  name  in  our  journal,  in  May,  1767, 
after  one  of  my  fellow-travellers,  Mr .  Uriah  Stone,  and  I  am  told  that  it 
retains  the  same  name  unto  this  day. 


240  COLONEL   SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

About  eight  days  after  I  left  my  company  at  the  mouth  of 
Tennessee,  on  rny  journey  eastward,  I  got  a  cane  stab  in  my 
foot,  which  occasioned  my  leg  to  swell,  and  I  suffered  much 
pain.  I  was  now  in  a  doleful  situation  ;  far  from  any  of  the 
human  species,  excepting  black  Jamie,  or  the  savages,  and  I  knew 
not  when  I  might  meet  with  them.  My  case  appeared  despe 
rate,  and  I  thought  something  must  be  done.  All  the  surgical 
instruments  I  had  was  a  knife,  a  moccasin  awl,  and  a  pair  of 
bullet-moulds ;  with  these  I  determined  to  draw  the  snag  from 
my  foot,  if  possible.  I  stuck  the  awl  in  the  skin,  and  with 
the  knife  I  cut  the  flesh  away  from  around  the  cane,  and  then 
I  commanded  the  mulatto  fellow  to  catch  it  with  the  bullet- 
moulds,  and  pull  it  out,  which  he  did.  When  I  saw  it,  it 
seemed  a  shocking  thing  to  be  in  any  person's  foot ;  it  will  there 
fore  be  supposed  that  I  was  very  glad  to  have  it  out.  The 
black  fellow  attended  upon  me,  and  obeyed  my  directions  faith 
fully.  I  ordered  him  to  search  for  Indian  medicine,  and  told 
him  to  get  me  a  quantity  of  bark  from  the  root  of  a  lynn  tree, 
which  I  made  him  beat  on  a  stone,  with  a  tomahawk,  and 
boil  it  in  a  kettle,  and  with  the  ooze  I  bathed  my  foot  and  leg; 
what  remained  when  I  had  finished  bathing  I  boiled  to  a  jelly 
and  made  poultices  thereof.  As  I  had  no  rags,  I  made  use  of 
the  green  moss  that  grows  upon  logs,  and  wrapped  it  round  with 
elm  bark  ;  by  this  means,  (simple  as  it  may  seem,)  the  swell 
ing  and  inflammation  in  a  great  measure  abated.  As  stormy 
weather  appeared,  I  ordered  Jamie  to  make  us  a  shelter,  which 
he  did  by  erecting  forks  and  poles,  and  covering  them  over 
with  cane  tops,  like  a  fodder  house.  It  was  about  one  hun 
dred  yards  from  a  large  buffalo  road.  As  we  were  almost  out 
of  provision,  I  commanded  Jamie  to  take  my  gun,  and  I  went 
along  as  well  as  I  could,  concealed  myself  near  the  road,  and 
killed  a  buffalo.  When  this  was  done,  we  jerked^  the  lean, 
and  fried  the  tallow  out  of  the  fat  meat,  which  we  kept  to  stew 
with  our  jerk  as  we  needed  it. 

While  I  lay  at  this  place,  all  the  books  I  had  to  read  was  a 
psalm-book  and  Watts  upon  Prayer.  Whilst  in  this  situation, 
I  composed  the  following  verses,  which  I  then  frequently  sung. 

Six  weeks  I've  in  this  desert  been, 

With  one  mulatto  lad  : 
Excepting  this  poor  stupid  slave, 

No  company  I  had. 

*  Jerk  is  a  name  well  known  by  the  hunters  and  frontier  inhabitants 
for  meat  cut  in  small  pieces  and  laid  on  a  scaffold,  over  a  slow  fire, 
whereby  it  is  roasted  until  it  is  thoroughly  dry. 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES.  241 

In  solitude  I  here  remain, 

A  cripple  very  sore, 
No  friend  or  neighbor  to  be  found) 

My  case  for  to  deplore. 

I'm  far  from  home,  far  from  the  wife 

Which  in  my  bosom  lay, 
Far  from  the  children  dear,  which  used 

Around  me  for  to  play. 

This  doleful  circumstance  cannot 

My  happiness  prevent, 
While  peace  of  conscience  I  enjoy, 

Great  comfort  and  content. 

I  continued  in  this  place  until  I  could  walk  slowly,  without 
crutches.  As  I  now  lay  near  a  great  buffalo  road,  I  was 
afraid  that  the  Indians  might  be  passing  that  way,  and  discover 
my  fire-place,  therefore  I  moved  off  some  distance,  where  I 
remained  until  I  killed  an  elk.  As  my  foot  was  yet  sore,  I 
concluded  that  I  would  stay  here  until  it  was  healed,  lest  by 
travelling  too  soon  it  might  again  be  inflamed. 

In  a  few  weeks  after  I  proceeded  on,  and  in  October  I 
arrived  in  Carolina.  I  had  now  been  eleven  months  in  the 
wilderness,  and  during  this  time  I  neither  saw  bread,  money, 
women,  nor  spirituous  liquors ;  and  three  months  of  which  I 
saw  none  of  the  human  species,  except  Jamie. 

When  I  came  into  the  settlement,  my  clothes  were  almost 
worn  out,  and  the  boy  had  nothing  on  him  that  ever  was  spun. 
He  had  buckskin  leggins,  moccasins,  and  breech-clout;  a  bear 
skin  dressed  with  the  hair  on,  which  he  belted  about  him,  and 
a  raccoon-skin  cap.  I  had  not  travelled  far  after  I  came  in 
before  I  was  strictly  examined  by  the  inhabitants.  I  told  them 
the  truth,  and  where  I  came  from,  &c.;  but  my  story  appeared 
so  strange  to  them  that  they  did  not  believe  me.  They  said 
that  they  had  never  heard  of  any  one  coming  through  the 
mountains  from  the  mouth  of  Tennessee,  and  if  any  one  would 
undertake  such  a  journey,  surely  no  man  would  lend  him  his 
slave.  They  said  that  they  thought  that  all  I  had  told  them 
were  lies,  and  on  suspicion  they  took  me  into  custody,  and  set 
a  guard  over  me. 

While  I  was  confined  here,  I  met  with  a  reputable  old 
acquaintance,  who  voluntarily  became  my  voucher,  and  also 
told  me  of  a  number  of  my  acquaintances  that  now  lived  near 
this  place,  who  had  moved  from  Pennsylvania;  on  this 
being  made  public  I  was  liberated.  I  went  to  a  magistrate  and 
obtained  a  pass,  and  one  of  my  old  acquaintances  made  me  a 
present  of  a  shirt.  I  then  cast  away  my  old  rags  ;  and  all  the 
16 


S42        COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

clothes  I  now  had  was  an  old  beaver  hat,  buckskin  leggins,  moc 
casins,  and  a  new  shirt ;  also  an  old  blanket,  which  I  com 
monly  carried  on  my  back  in  good  weather.  Being  thus 
equipped,  I  marched  on  with  my  white  shirt  loose,  and  Jamie 
with  his  bear-skin  about  him ;  myself  appearing  white,  and 
Jamie  very  black,  alarmed  the  dogs  wherever  we  came,  so  that 
they  barked  violently.  The  people  frequently  came  out  and 
asked  me  where  we  came  from,  &c.  I  told  them  the  truth,  but 
they  for  the  most  part  suspected  my  story,  and  I  generally 
had  to  show  them  my  pass.  In  this  way  I  came  on  to  fort 
Chissel)  where  I  left  Jamie  at  Mr.  Horton's  negro  quarter, 
according  to  promise.  I  went  from  thence  to  Mr.  George 
Adams's,  on  Reed  Creek,  where  I  had  lodged,  and  where  I 
had  left  my  clothes  as  I  was  going  out  from  home.  When  1 
dressed  myself  in  good  clothes,  and  mounted  on  horseback,  na 
man  ever  asked  me  for  a  pass  ;  therefore  I  concluded  that  a 
horse-thief,  or  even  a  robber,  might  pass  without  interruption, 
provided  he  was  only  well  dressed,  whereas  the  shabby  villian 
would  be  immediately  detected. 

I  returned  home  to  Conococheague  in  the  fall  of  1767. 
When  I  arrived,  I  found  that  my  wife  and  friends  had  despair 
ed  of  ever  seeing  me  again,  as  they  had  heard  that  I  was  killed 
by  the  Indians,  and  my  horse  brought  into  one  of  the  Chero 
kee  towns. 

In  the  year  1769,  the  Indians  again  made  incursions  on  the 
frontiers  ;  yet  the  traders  continued  carrying  goods  and  warlike 
stores  to  them.  The  frontiers  took  the  alarm,  and  a  number 
of  persons  collected,  destroyed  and  plundered  a  quantity  of 
their  powder,  lead,  &c.,  in  Bedford  county.  Shortly  after  this, 
some  of  these  persons,  with  others,  were  apprehended  and  laid 
in  irons  in  the  guard-house  in  fort  Bedford,  on  suspicion  of 
being  the  perpetrators  of  this  crime. 

Though  I  did  not  altogether  approve  of  the  conduct  of  this 
new  club  of  black  boys,  yet  I  concluded  that  they  should  not 
lie  in  irons  in  the  guard-house,  or  remain  in  confinement,  by 
arbitrary  or  military  power.  I  resolved,  therefore,  if  possible, 
to  release  them,  if  they  even  should  be  tried  by  the  civil  law 
afterwards.  I  collected  eighteen  of  my  old  black  boys,  that  I 
had  seen  tried  in  the  Indian  war,  &c.  I  did  not  desire  a  large 
party,  lest  they  should  be  too  much  alarmed  at  Bedford,  and 
accordingly  prepared  for  us.  We  marched  along  the  public 
road  in  daylight,  and  made  no  secret  of  our  design.  We  told 
those  whom  we  met  that  we  were  going  to  take  fort  Bedford, 
which  appeared  to  them  a  very  unlikely  story.  Before  this,  I 
made  it  known  to  one  William  Thompson,  a  man  whom  I 
could  trust,  and  who  lived  there.  Him  I  employed  as  a  spy, 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES.       243 

and  sent  him  along  on  horseback  before,  with  orders  to  meet 
me  at  a  certain  place  near  Bedford,  one  hour  before  day.  The 
next  day  a  little  before  sunset,  we  encamped  near  the  crossings 
of  Juniata,  about  fourteen  miles  from  Bedford,  and  erected 
tents,  as  though  we  intended  staying  all  night,  and  not  a  man 
in  my  company  knew  to  the  contrary,  save  myself.  Knowing 
that  they  would  hear  this  in  Bedford,  and  wishing  it  to  be  the 
case,  I  thought  to  surprise  them  by  stealing  a  march. 

As  the  moon  rose  about  eleven  o'clock,  I  ordered  my  boys 
to  march ;  and  we  went  on  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour, 
until  we  met  Thompson  at  the  place  appointed.  He  told  us 
that  the  commanding  officer  had  frequently  heard  of  us  by  tra 
vellers,  and  had  ordered  thirty  men  upon  guard.  He  said  they 
knew  our  number,  and  "only  made  game  of  the  notion  of  eigh 
teen  men  coming  to  rescue  the  prisoners,  but  they  did  not 
expect  us  until  towards  the  middle  of  the  day.  I  asked  him 
if  the  gate  was  open.  He  said  it  was  then  shut,  but  he  ex 
pected  they  would  open  it  as  usual,  at  daylight,  as  they  appre 
hended  no  danger.  I  then  moved  my  men  privately  up  under 
the  banks  of  Juniata,  where  we  lay  concealed  about  one  hun 
dred  yards  from  the  fort  gate.  I  had  ordered  the  men  to  keep 
a  profound  silence  until  we  got  into  it.  I  then  sent  off  Thomp 
son  again  to  spy.  At  daylight  he  returned,  and  told  us  that 
the  gate  was  open,  and  three  sentinels  were  standing  on  the 
wall ;  that  the  guards  were  taking  a  morning  dram,  and  the 
arms  standing  together  in  one  place.  I  then  concluded  to  rush 
into  the  fort,  and  told  Thompson  to  run  before  me  to  the  arms. 
We  ran  with  all  our  might,  and  as  it  was  a  misty  morning,  the 
sentinels  scarcely  saw  us  until  we  were  within  the  gate,  and 
took  possession  of  the  arms.  Just  as  we  were  entering,  two  of 
them  discharged  their  guns,  though  I  do  not  believe  they  aimed 
at  us.  We  then  raised  a  shout,  which  surprised  the  town, 
though  some  of  them  were  well  pleased  with  the  news.  We 
compelled  a  blacksmith  to  take  the  irons  off  the  prisoners,  and 
then  we  left  the  place.  This,  I  believe,  was  the  first  British 
fort  in  America  that  was  taken  by  what  they  called  American 
rebels. 

Some  time  after  this  I  took  a  journey  westward,  in  order  to 
survey  some  located  land  I  had  on  and  near  the  Youhogany. 
As  I  passed  near  Bedford,  while  I  was  walking  and  leading 
my  horse,  I  was  overtaken  by  some  men  on  horseback,  like 
travellers.  One  of  them  asked  my  name,  and  on  telling  it, 
they  immediately  pulled  out  their  pistols,  and  presented  them 
at  me,  calling  upon  me  to  deliver  myself,  or  I  was  a  dead  man. 
I  stepped  back,  presented  my  rifle,  and  told  them  to  stand  off. 
One  of  them  snapped  a  pistol  at  me,  and  another  was  prepar- 


244  COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

ing  to  shoot,  when  I  fired  my  piece.  One  of  them  also  fired 
near  the  same  time,  and  one  of  my  fellow-travellers  fell.  The 
assailants  then  rushed  up,  and  as  my  gun  was  empty,  they  took 
and  tied  me.  I  charged  them  with  killing  my  fellow-traveller, 
and  told  them  he  was  a  man  that  I  had  accidentally  met  with 
on  the  road,  that  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  public  quarrel. 
They  asserted  that  I  had  killed  him.  I  told  them  that  my  gun 
blowed,  or  made  a  slow  fire ;  that  I  had  her  from  my  face  be 
fore  she  went  off,  or  I  would  not  have  missed  my  mark ;  and 
from  the  position  my  piece  was  in  when  it  went  off,  it  was  not 
likely  that  my  gun  killed  this  man,  yet  I  acknowledged  I  was 
not  certain  that  it  was  not  so.  They  then  carried  me  to  Bed 
ford,  laid  me  in  irons  in  the  guard-house,  summoned  a  jury  of 
the  opposite  party,  and  held  an  inquest.  The  jury  brought  me 
in  guilty  of  wilful  murder.  As  they  were  afraid  to  keep  me 
long  in  Bedford,  for  fear  of  a  rescue,  they  sent  me  privately 
through  the  wilderness  to  Carlisle,  where  I  was  laid  in  heavy 
irons. 

Shortly  after  I  came  here,  we  heard  that  a  number  of  my  old 
black  boys  were  coining  to  tear  down  the  jail.  1  told  the  she 
riff  that  I  would  not  be  rescued,  as  I  knew  that  the  indictment 
was  wrong;  therefore  I  wished  to  stand  my  trial.  As  I  had 
found  the  black  boys  to  be  always  under  good  command,  I 
expected  I  could  prevail  on  them  to  return,  and  therefore  wish 
ed  to  write  to  them  ;  to  this  the  sheriff  readily  agreed.  I  wrote 
a  letter  to  them,  with  irons  on  my  hands,  which  was  immedi 
ately  sent ;  but  as  they  had  heard  that  1  was  in  irons,  they 
would  come  on.  When  we  heard  they  were  near  the  town,  I 
told  the  sheriff  I  would  speak  to  them  out  of  the  window,  and 
if  the  irons  were  off  I  made  no  doubt  but  I  could  prevail  on 
them  to  desist.  The  sheriff  ordered  them  to  be  taken  off,  and 
just  as  they  were  taking  off  my  bands  the  black  boys  came 
running  up  to  the  jail.  I  went  to  the  window  and  called  to 
them,  and  they  gave  attention.  I  told  them,  as  my  indictment 
was  for  wilful  murder,  to  admit  of  being  rescued  would  appear 
dishonorable.  I  thanked  them  for  their  kind  intentions,  and 
told  them  the  greatest  favor  they  could  confer  upon  me  would 
be  to  grant  me  this  one  request,  to  withdraw  from  the  jail  and 
return  in  peace  ;  to  this  they  complied,  and  withdrew.  While 
I  was  speaking,  the  irons  were  taken  off  my  feet,  and  never 
again  put  on. 

Before  this  party  arrived  at  Conococheague,  they  met  about 
three  hundred  more  on  the  way,  coming  to  their  assistance,  and 
were  resolved  to  take  me  out ;  they  then  turned,  and  all  came 
together  to  Carlisle.  The  reason  they  gave  for  coming  again 
was,  because  they  thought  that  government  was  so  enraged  at 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES.       245 

me,  that  I  would  not  get  a  fair  trial.     But  my  friends  and 
myself  together  again  prevailed  on  them  to  return  in  peace. 

At  this  time  the  public  papers  were  partly  filled  with  these 
occurrences.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Pennsylva 
nia  Gazette,  No.  2132,  Nov.  2d,  1769. 

"Conococheague,  October  I6tk,  1769. 
"  MESSRS.  HALL  &  SELLERS, 

"  Please  to  give  the  following  narrative  a  place  in  your  Ga 
zette,  and  you  will  much  oblige 

"  Your  humble  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  SMITH." 

"Whereas,  in  this  Gazette  of  September  28th,  1769,  there 
appeared  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  Bedford,  September  12th, 
1769,  relative  to  James  Smith,  as  being  apprehended  on  sus 
picion  of  being  a  black  boy,  then  killing  his  companion,  &c.,  I 
took  upon  myself,  as  bound  by  all  the  obligations  of  truth,  jus 
tice  to  character,  and  to  the  world,  to  set  that  matter  in  a  true 
light ;  by  which  I  hope  the  impartial  world  will  be  enabled  to 
obtain  a  more  just  opinion  of  the  present  scheme  of  acting  in 
this  end  of  the  country,  as  also  to  form  a  true  idea  of  the  truth, 
candor,  and  ingenuity  of  the  author  of  the  said  extract,  in 
stating  that  matter  in  so  partial  a  light.  The  state  of  the  case 
(which  can  be  made  appear  by  undeniable  evidence)  was  this. 
James  Smith,  (who  is  styled  the  principal  ringleader  of  the 
black  boys,  by  the  said  author,)  together  with  his  younger 
brother  and  brother-in-law,  were  going  out  in  order  to  survey 
and  improve  their  land  on  the  waters  of  Youghoghany,  and  as 
the  time  of  their  return  was  long,  they  took  with  them  their 
arms,  and  horses  loaded  with  the  necessaries  of  life ;  and  as 
one  of  Smith's  brothers-in-law  was  an  artist  in  surveying,  he 
had  also  with  him  the  instruments  for  that  business.  Travel 
ling  on  the  way,  within  about  nine  miles  of  Bedford,  they 
overtook  and  joined  company  with  one  Johnson  and  Moorhead, 
who  likewise  had  horses  loaded,  part  of  which  loading  was 
liquor,  and  part  seed  wheat,  their  intentions  being  to  make 
improvements  on  their  lands.  When  they  arrived  at  the  part 
ing  of  the  road  on  this  side  Bedford,  the  company  separated. 
One  part  going  through  the  town,  in  order  to  get  a  horse  shod, 
were  apprehended,  and  put  under  confinement,  but  for  what 
crime  thejrknew  not,  and  treated  in  a  manner  utterly  incon 
sistent  with  the  laws  of  their  country  and  the  liberties  of 
Englishmen  ;  whilst  the  other  part,  viz.  James  Smith,  John 
son,  and  Moorhead,  taking  along  the  other  road,  were  met  by 


246  COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

John  Holmes,  Esq.,  to  whom  James  Smith  spoke  in  a  friendly 
manner,  but  received  no  answer.  Mr.  Holmes  hasted,  and 
gave  an  alarm  in  Bedford,  trom  whence  a  party  of  men  were 
sent  in  pursuit  of  them ;  but  Smith  and  his  companions  not 
having  the  least  thought  of  any  such  measures  being  taken, 
(why  should  they  ?)  travelled  slowly  on.  After  they  had  gain 
ed  the  place  where  the  roads  joined,  they  delayed  until  the 
other  part  of  their  company  should  come  up.  At  this  time  a 
number  of  men  came  riding,  like  men  travelling ;  they  asked 
Smith  his  name,  which  he  told  them ;  on  which  they  imme 
diately  assaulted  him  as  a  highwayman,  and  with  presented 
pistols  commanded  him  to  surrender  or  he  was  a  dead  man ; 
upon  which  Smith  stepped  back,  asked  them  if  they  were 
highwaymen,  charging  them  at  the  same  time  to  stand  off, 
when  immediately  Robert  George  (one  of  the  assailants) 
snapped  a  pistol  at  Smith's  head,  and  that  before  Smith  offered 
to  shoot,  (which  said  George  himself  acknowledged  upon  oath ;) 
whereupon  Smith  presented  his  gun  at  another  of  the  assail 
ants,  who  was  preparing  to  shoot  him  with  his  pistol.  The 
said  assailant  having  a  hold  of  Johnson  by  the  arm,  two  shots 
were  fired,  one  by  Smith's  gun,  the  other  from  a  pistol,  so 
quick  as  just  to  be  distinguishable,  and  Johnson  fell.  After 
which,  Smith  was  taken  and  carried  into  Bedford,  where  John 
Holmes,  Esq.,  the  informer,  held  an  inquest  on  the  corpse,  one 
of  the  assailants  being  as  an  evidence,  (nor  was  there  any  other 
troubled  about  the  matter.)  Smith  was  brought  in  guilty  of 
wilful  murder,  and  so  committed  to  prison.  But  a  jealousy 
arising  in  the  breasts  of  many,  that  the  inquest,  either  through 
inadvertency,  ignorance,  or  some  other  default,  was  not  so  fair 
as  it  ought  to  be,  William  Deny,  coroner  of  the  county,  upon 
requisition  made,  thought  proper  to  re-examine  the  matter,  and 
summoning  a  jury  of  unexceptionable  men  out  of  three  townships 
—men  whose  candor,  probity,  and  honesty,  is  unquestionable 
with  all  who  are  acquainted  with  them,  and  having  raised  the 
corpse,  held  an  inquest  in  a  solemn  manner  during  three  days. 
In  the  course  of  their  scrutiny  they  found  Johnson's  shirt 
blacked  about  the  bullet-hole  by  the  powder  of  the  charge  by 
which  he  was  killed,  whereupon  they  examined  into  the  dis 
tance  Smith  stood  from  Johnson  when  he  shot,  and  one  of  the 
assailants,  being  admitted  to  oath,  swore  to  the  respective  spots 
af  ground  they  both  stood  on  at  that  time,  which  the  jury  mea 
sured,  and  found  to  be  twenty-three  feet  nearly;  then,  trying 
the  ^  experiment  of  shooting  at  the  same  shirt,  both  with  and 
against  the  wind,  and  at  the  same  distance,  found  no  effects, 
nor  the  least  stain  from  the  powder  on  the  shirt.  And  let  any 
person  that  pleases  make  the  experiment,  and  I  will  venture  to 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES.  247 

affirm  he  shall  find  that  powder  will  not  stain  at  half  the  dis 
tance  above  mentioned,  if  shot  out  of  a  rifle  gun,  which  Smith's 
was.  Upon  the  whole,  the  jury,  after  the  most  accurate  exa 
mination  and  mature  deliberation,  brought  in  their  verdict  that 
some  one  of  the  assailants  themselves  must  necessarily  have 
been  the  perpetrators  of  the  murder. 

"  I  have  now  represented  the  matter  in  its  true  and  genuine 
colors,  and  which  I  will  abide  by.  I  only  beg  liberty  to  make 
a  few  remarks  and  reflections  on  the  above-mentioned  extract. 
The  author  says,  '  James  Smith,  with  two  others  in  company, 
passed  round  the  town,  without  touching,'  by  which  it  is  plain 
he  would  insinuate,  and  make  the  public  believe,  that  Smith, 
and  that  part  of  the  company,  had  taken  some  by-road,  which 
is  utterly  false,  for  it  was  the  king's  highway,  and  the  straight- 
est,  that  through  Bedford  being  something  to  the  one  side  ;  nor 
would  the  other  part  of  the  company  have  gone  through  the 
town  but  for  the  reason  already  given.  Again,  the  author  says 
that  *  four  men  were  sent  in  pursuit  of  Smith  and  his  com 
panions,  who  overtook  them  about  five  miles  from  Bedford,  and 
commanded  them  to  surrender,  on  which  Smith  presented  his 
gun  at  one  of  the  men,  who  was  struggling  with  his  companion, 
fired  it  at  him,  arid  shot  his  companion  through  the  back.' 
Here  I  would  just  remark,  again,  the  unfair  and  partial  account 
given  of  this  matter  by  the  author.  Not  a  word  mentioned  of 
George  snapping  his  pistol  before  Smith  offered  to  shoot,  or  of 
another  of  the  assailants  actually  firing  his  pistol,  though  he 
confessed  himself  afterwards  he  had  done  so ;  not  the  least 
mention  of  the  company's  baggage,  which,  to  men  in  the  least 
open  to  a  fair  inquiry,  would  have  been  sufficient  proof  of  the 
innocence  of  their  intentions.  Must  not  an  effusive  blush 
overspread  the  face  of  the  partial  representer  of  facts,  when  he 
finds  the  veil  he  had  thrown  over  truth  thus  pulled  aside,  and 
she  exposed  to  naked  view?  Suppose  it  should  be  granted  that 
Smith  shot  the  man,  (which  is  not,  and  I  presume  never  can 
be  proved  to  be  the  case,)  I  would  only  ask,  was  he  not  on  his 
own  defence  ?  Was  he  not  publicly  assaulted  ?  Was  he  not 
charged,  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  to  surrender,  without  knowing 
for  what?  no  warrant  being  shown  him,  or  any  declaration 
made  of  their  authority.  And  seeing  these  things  are  so,  would 
any  judicious  man,  any  person  in  the  least  acquainted  with  the 
laws  of  the  land,  or  morality,  judge  him  guilty  of  wilful  mur 
der  ?  But  I  humbly  presume  every  one  who  has  an  oppor 
tunity  of  seeing  this  will,  by  this  time,  be  convinced  that  the 
proceedings  against  Smith  were  truly  unlawful  and  tyrannical, 
perhaps  unparalleled  by  any  instance  in  a  civilized  nation  ; — 
for  to  endeavor  to  kill  a  man  in  the  apprehending  of  him,  in, 


36 


243        COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

order  to  bring  him  to  trial  for  a  fact,  and  that  too  on  a  suppos 
ed  one,  is  undoubtedly  beyond  all  bounds  of  law  or  govern 
ment. 

"  If  the  author  of  the  extract  thinks  I  have  treated  him  un 
fair,  or  that  I  have  advanced  any  thing  he  can  controvert,  let 
him  come  forward,  as  a  fair  antagonist,  and  make  his  defence, 
and  I  will,  if  called  upon,  vindicate  all  that  I  have  advanced 
against  him  or  his  abettors. 

"  WILLIAM  SMITH." 

I  remained  in  prison  four  months,  and  during  this  time  I 
often  thought  of  those  that  were  confined  in  the  time  of  the 
persecution,  who  declared  their  prison  was  converted  into  a  pal 
ace.  I  now  learned  what  this  meant,  as  1  never  since  or  before 
experienced  four  months  of  equal  happiness. 

When  the  supreme  court  sat,  I  was  severely  prosecuted. 
At  the  commencement  of  my  trial  the  judges,  in  a  very  unjust, 
and  arbitrary  manner,  rejected  several  of  my  evidences  ;  yet, 
as  Robert  George  (one  of  those  who  was  in  the  aflray  when  1 
was  taken)  swore  in  court  that  he  snapped  a  pistol  at  me 
before  I  shot,  and  a  concurrence  of  corroborating  circumstan 
ces  amounted  to  strong  presumptive  evidence  that  it  could 
not  possibly  be  my  gun  that  killed  Johnson,  the  jury,  without 
hesitation,  brought  in  their  verdict,  NOT  GUILTY.  One  of  the 
judges  then  declared  that  not  one  of  this  jury  should  ever  hold 
an  office  above  a  constable.  Notwithstanding  this  proud,  ill- 
natured  declaration,  some  of  these  jurymen  afterwards  filled 
honorable  places,  and  I  myself  was  elected  the  next  year,  and 
sat  on  the  board*"  in  Bedford  county,  and  afterwards  I  served 
in  the  board  three  years  in  Westmoreland  county. 

In  the  year  1774,  another  Indian  war  commenced,  though 
at  this  time  the  white  people  were  the  aggressors.  The  pros- 
ppct  of  this  terrified  the  frontier  inhabitants,  insomuch  that 
the  great  part  on  the  Ohio  waters  either  fled  over  the  moun 
tains  eastward  or  collected  into  forts.  As  the  state  of  Penn 
sylvania  apprehended  great  danger,  they  at  this  time  appoint 
ed  me  captain  over  what  was  then  called  the  Pennsylvania 
line.  As  they  knew  I  could  raise  men  that  would  answer 
their  purpose,  they  seemed  to  lay  aside  their  former  inveteracy. 

In  the  year  1776,  I  was  appointed  a  major  in  the  Pennsyl 
vania  association.  When  American  independence  was  de 
clared,  1  was  elected  a  member  of  the  convention  in  West 
moreland  county,  state  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  Assembly 
as  long  as  I  proposed  to  serve. 

*  A  hoard  of  commissioners  was  annually  elected  In  Pennsylvania  la 
regulate  taxes  aiid  lay  the  county  levy. 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES.       249 

While  I  attended  the  Assembly  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  yeai 
1777,  I  saw  in  the  street  some  of  my  old  boys,  on  their  way  to 
the  Jerseys,  against  the  British,  and  they  desired  me  to  go 
with  them  ;  I  petitioned  the  house  for  leave  of  absence,  in 
order  to  head  a  scouting  party,  which  was  granted  me.  We 
inarched  into  the  Jerseys,  and  went  before  General  Washing 
ton's  army,  waylaid  the  road  at  Rocky  Hill,  attacked  about 
two  hundred  of  the  British,  and  with  thirty-six  men  drove  them 
out  of  the  woods,  into  a  large  open  field.  After  this,  we  at 
tacked  a  party  that  were  guarding  the  officers'  baggage,  and 
took  the  wagon  and  twenty-two  Hessians ;  and  also  retook 
some  of  our  continental  soldiers,  which  they  had  with  them. 
In  a  few  days  we  killed  and  took  more  of  the  British  than  was 
of  our  party.  At  this  time  I  took  the  camp  fever,  and  was 
carried  in  a  stage  wagon  to  Burlington,  where  I  lay  until  I 
recovered.  When  I  took  sick,  my  companion,  Major  James 
M 'Common,  took  the  command  of  the  party,  and  had  greater 
success  than  I  had.  If  every  officer,  and  his  party,  that  lifted 
arms  against  the  English,  had  fought  with  the  same  success 
that  Mnjor  M'Common  did,  we  would  have  made  short  work 
of  the  British  war. 

When  I  returned  to  Philadelphia,  I  applied  to  the  Assembly 
for  leave  to  raise  a  battalion  of  riflemen,  which  they  appeared 
very  willing  to  grant,  but  said  they  could  not  do  it,  as  the 
power  of  raising  men  and  commissioning  officers  were  at  that 
time  committed  to  General  Washington  ;  therefore  they  ad 
vised  me  to  apply  to  his  excellency.  The  following  is  a  true 
copy  of  a  letter  of  recommendation  which  I  received  at  this 
time  from  the  council  of  safety  : 

"IN  COUNCIL  OF  SAFETY. 

«  Philadelphia,  February  Wth,  1777. 

«  SIR — Application  has  been  made  to  us  by  James  Smith,  Esq.,  of  We't- 
moreland,  a  gentleman  well  acquainted  with  the  Indian  customs  and 
their  mariner  of  carrying  on  war,  for  leave  to  raise  a  battalion  of  mark> 
men,  expert  in  the  use  of  rifles,  and  such  as  are  acquainted  with  the 
Indian  method  of  fighting,  to  be  dressed  entirely  in  their  fashion,  for  tne 
purpose  of  annoying  and  harassing  the  enemy  in  their  marches  and  en 
campments.  We  think  two  or  three  hundred  men  in  that  way  might  be 
very  useful.  Should  yonr  excellency  be  of  the  same  opinion,  and  diiflct 
such  a  corps  to  be  formed,  we  will  lake  proper  measures  for  raising  ihe 
men  on  the  frontiers  of  this  state,  and  follow  such  other  directions  as 
your  excellency  shall  give  in  this  matter. 

"  To  his  Excellency,  General  Washington." 

"  The  foregoing  is  a  copy  of  a  letter  to  his  excellency,  General  "VVasn- 
ington,  from  the  council  of  sajety. 

'*  JACOB  S.  HOWELL,  Rerretary." 

After  this  I  received  another  letter  of  recommendation,  which 
is  as  follows : — 


250       COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

"We,  whose  names  are  underwritten,  do  certify  that  James  Smith 
(now  of  the  county  of  Westmoreland,)  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians 
in  an  expedition  before  General  Braddock's  defeat,  in  the  year  1755,  and 
remained  with  them  until  the  year  1760 ;  and  also  that  he  served  as 
ensign,  in  the  year  1763,  under  the  pay  of  the  province  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  as  lieutenant  in  the  year  1764.  and  as  captain  in  the  year  1774  j  and 
as  a  military  officer  he  has  sustained  a  good  character  ;  and  we  do  recom 
mend  him  as  a  person  well  acquainted  with  the  Indians'  method  of  fight 
ing,  and,  in  our  humble  opinion,  exceedingly  fit  for  the  command  of  a 
ranging  or  scouting  party,  which  we  are  also  humbly  of  opinion  he  could, 
(if  legally  authorized,)  soon  raise.  Given  under  our  hands  at  Philadel 
phia,  this  13th  day  of  March,  1777. 

THOMAS  PAXTON,  Capt.  JONATHAN  HOD^E,  Esq. 

J-,  WILLIAM  DUFFIELD,  Esq.  WILLIAM  PARKER,  Capt. 

DAVID  ROBB,  Esq.  ROBERT  ELLIOT, 

JOHN  PIPER,  Col.  JOSEPH  ARMSTRONG,  Col. 

WILLIAM  M'CoMB,  ROBERT  PEEBLES,  Lt.  Col. 

WILLIAM  PEPPER,  Lt.  Col.  SAMUEL  PATTON,  Capt. 

JAMES  M'LANE,  Esq.  WILLIAM  LYON,  Esq." 
JOHN  PROCTOR,  Col. 

With  these  and  some  other  letters  of  recommendation, 
which  I  have  not  now  in  my  possession,  I  went  to  his  excel 
lency,  who  lay  at  Morristown.  Though  General  Washington 
did  not  fall  in  with  the  scheme  of  white  men  turning  Indians, 
yet  he  proposed  giving  me  a  major's  place  in  a  battalion  of 
riflemen  already  raised.  I  thanked  the  general  for  his  proposal, 
but  as  I  entertained  no  high  opinion  of  the  colonel  I  was  to 
serve  under,  and  with  whom  I  had  no  prospect  of  getting  my 
old  boys  again,  I  thought  I  would  be  of  more  use  in  the  cause 
we  were  then  struggling  to  support  to  remain  with  them  as  a 
militia  officer ;  therefore  I  did  not  accept  this  offer. 

In  the  year  1778,  I  received  a  colonel's  commission,  and 
after  my  return  to  Westmoreland  the  Indians  made  an  attack 
upon  our  frontiers.  I  then  raised  men  and  pursued  them,  and 
the  second  day  we  overtook  and  defeated  them.  We  likewise 
took  four  scalps,  and  recovered  the  horses  and  plunder  which 
they  were  carrying  off.  At  the  time  of  this  attack,  Captain 
John  Hinkston  pursued  an  Indian,  both  their  guns  being  empty, 
and  after  the  fray  was  over  he  was  missing.  While  we  were 
inquiring  about  him,  he  came  walking  up,  seemingly  uncon 
cerned,  with  a  bloody  scalp  in  his  band  ;  he  had  pursued  the 
Indian  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  tomahawked  him. 

Not  long  after  this,  I  was  called  upon  to  command  four 
hundred  riflemen  on  an  expedition  against  the  Indian  town  on 
French  Creek.  It  was  some  time  in  November  before  I 
received  orders  from  General  M'Intosh  to  march,  and  then  we 
were  poorly  equipped  and  scarce  of  provision.  We  marched 
in  three  columns,  forty  rod  from  each  other.  There  were  also 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

flankers  on  the  outside  of  each  column,  that  marched  abreast 
in  the  rear,  in  scattered  order ;  and  even  in  the  columns  the 
men  were  one  rod  apart ;  and  in  the  front  the  volunteers 
marched  abreast  in  the  same  manner  of  the  flankers,  scouring 
the  woods.  In  case  of  an  attack,  the  officers  were  immedi 
ately  to  order  the  men  to  face  out  and  take  trees ;  in  this  posi 
tion,  the  Indians  could  not  avail  themselves  by  surrounding  us, 
or  have  an  opportunity  of  shooting  a  man  from  either  side 
of  the  tree.  If  attacked,  the  centre  column  was  to  reinforce 
whatever  part  appeared  to  require  it  most.  When  we  en 
camped,  our  encampment  formed  a  hollow  square,  including 
about  thirty  or  forty  acres  ;  on  the  outside  of  the  square,  there 
were  sentinels  placed,  whose  business  it  was  to  watch  for  the 
enemy,  and  see  that  neither  horses  nor  bullocks  went  out ;  and 
when  encamped,  if  any  attacks  were  made  by  an  enemy,  each 
officer  was  immediately  to  order  the  men  to  face  out  and  take 
trees,  as  before  mentioned  ;  and  in  this  form,  they  could  not 
take  the  advantage  by  surrounding  us,  as  they  commonly  had 
done  when  they  fought  the  whites. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  general  orders,  given  at  this  time, 
which  I  have  found  among  my  journals  : 

"AT  CAMP— OPPOSITE  FORT  PITT. 

"November  29to,  1778. 

"  GENERAL    ORDERS. 

"  A  copy  thereof  is  to  be  given  to  each  Captain  and  Subaltern,  and  to  be  read 

to  each  Company. 

"  You  are  to  march  in  three  columns,  witn  flankers  on  the  front  and 
rear,  and  to  keep  a  profound  silence,  and  not  to  fire  a  gun,  except  at  the 
enemy,  without  particular  orders  for  that  purpose ;  and  in  case  of  an  attack, 
let  it  be  so  ordered  that  every  other  man  only  is  to  shoot  at  once,  excepting 
on  extraordinary  occasions  ;  the  one  half  of  the  men  to  keep  a  reserve 
fire  until  their  comrades  load ;  and  let  every  one  be  particularly  careful 
not  to  fire  at  any  time  without  a  view  of  the  enemy,  and  that  not  at  too 
great  a  distance.  I  earnestly  urge  the  above  caution,  as  I  have  known 
very  remarkable  and  grievous  errors  of  this  kind.  You  are  to  encamp 
on  the  hollow  square,  except  the  volunteers,  who,  according  to  their 
own  request,  are  to  encamp  on  the  front  of  the  square.  A  suffi 
cient  number  of  sentinels  are  to  be  kept  round  the  square  at  a  proper 
distance.  Every  man  is  to  be  under  arms  at  the  break  of  day,  and 
to  parade  opposite  to  their  fire-places,  facing  out,  and  when  the  officers 
examine  their  arms,  and  find  them  in  good  order,  and  give  necessary 
directions,  they  are  to  be  dismissed,  with  orders  to  have  their  arms  near 
them,  and  be  always  in  readiness. 

"  Given  by 

"  JAMES  SMITH,  Colonel." 

In  this  manner,  we  proceeded  on  to  French  Creek,  where 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES 


we  found  the  Indian  town  evacuated.  I  then  went  on  further 
than  my  orders  called  for,  in  quest  of  Indians ;  but  our  pro 
vision  being  nearly  exhausted,  we  were  obliged  to  return. 
On  our  way  back  we  met  with  considerable  difficulties,  on 
account  of  high  waters  and  scarcity  of  provision ;  yet  we 
never  lost  one  horse,  excepting  some  that  gave  out. 

After  peace  was  made  with  the  Indians,  I  met  with  some  of 
them  in  Pittsburg,  and  inquired  of  them  in  their  own  tongue 
concerning  this  expedition,  not  letting  them  know  I  was  there. 
They  told  me  that  they  watched  the  movements  of  this  army 
ever  after  they  had  left  fort  Pitt,  and  as  they  passed  through 
the  glades  or  barrens  they  had  a  full  view  of  them  from  the 
adjacent  hills,  and  computed  their  number  to  be  about  one 
thousand.  They  said  they  also  examined  their  camps,  both 
before  and  after  they  were  gone,  and  found  they  could  not 
make  an  advantageous  attack,  and  therefore  moved  off  from 
their  town  and  hunting  ground  before  we  arrived. 

In  the  year  1788,  I  settled  in  Bourbon  county,  Kentucky, 
seven  miles  above  Paris,  and  in  the  same  year  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  convention  that  sat  at  Danville  to  confer  about 
a  separation  from  the  state  of  Virginia  ;  and  from  that  year 
until  the  year  1799,  I  represented  Bourbon  county  either  in 
cenvention  or  as  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,  except 
two  years  that  I  was  left  a  few  votes  behind. 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 


ON  THE  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

The  Indians  are  a  slovenly  people  in  their  dress.  They 
seldom  ever  wash  their  shirts,  and  in  regard  to  cookery  they 
are  exceedingly  filthy.  When  they  kill  a  buffalo  they  will 
sometimes  lash  the  paunch  of  it  round  a  sapling,  and  cast  it 
into  the  kettle,  boil  it,  and  sup  the  broth ;  though  they  com 
monly  shake  it  about  in  cold  water,  then  boil  and  eat  it.  Not 
withstanding  all  this,  they  are  very  polite  in  their  own  way, 
and  they  retain  among  them  the  essentials  of  good  manners; 
though  they  have  few  compliments,  yet  they  are  complaisant 
to  one  another,  and  when  accompanied  with  good  humor  and 
discretion,  they  entertain  strangers  in  the  best  manner  their 
circumstances  will  admit.  They  use  but  few  titles  of  honor. 
In  the  military  line  the  titles  of  great  men  are  only  captains 
or  leaders  of  parties.  In  the  civil  line,  the  titles  are  only 
counsellors,  chiefs,  or  the  old  wise  men.  These  titles  are 
never  made  use  of  in  addressing  any  of  their  great  men. 
The  language  commonly  made  use  of  in  addressing  them  is 
grandfather,  father,  or  uncle.  They  have  no  such  thing  in 
use  among  them  as  Sir,  Mr.,  Madam,  or  Mistress.  The  com 
mon  mode  of  address  is,  my  friend,  brother,  cousin,  or 
mother,  sister,  &c.  They  pay  great  respect  to  age,  or  to  the 
aged  fathers  and  mothers  among  them  of  every  rank.  No 
one  can  arrive  at  any  place  of  honor  among  them  but  by  merit. 
Either  some  exploit  in  war  must  be  performed  before  any  one 
can  be  advanced  in  the  military  line,  or  become  eminent  for 
wisdom  before  they  can  obtain  a  seat  in  council.  It  would 
appear  to  the  Indians  a  most  ridiculous  thing  to  see  a  man 
lead  on  a  company  of  warriors,  as  an  officer,  who  had  himself 
never  been  in  a  battle  in  his  life.  Even  in  case  of  merit  they 
are  slow  in  advancing  any  one,  until  they  arrive  at  or  near 
middle  age. 

They  invite  every  one  that  comes  to  their  house  or  camp  to 
eat,  while  they  have  any  thing  to  give ;  and  it  is  accounted 
bad  manners  to  refuse  eating  when  invited.  They  are  very 
tenacious  of  their  old  mode  of  dressing  and  painting,  and  do 
not  change  their  fashions  as  we  do.  They  are  very  fond  of 
tobacco,  and  the  men  almost  all  smoke  it  mixed  with  sumach 
leaves  or  red  willow  bark,  pulverized,  though  they  seldom  use 
it  in  any  other  way-  They  make  use  of  the  pipe  also  a&  a 
token  of  love  and  friendship. 

In  courtship  they  also  differ  from  us.  It  is  a  common  thing 
among  them  for  a  young  woman,  if  in  love,  to  make  suit  to  a 
young  man  ;  though  the  first  address  may  be  by  the  man,  yet 
22 


254  COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

the  other  is  the  most  common.  The  squaws  are  generally 
very  immodest  in  their  words  and  actions,  and  will  often  put  the 
young  men  to  the  blush.  The  men  commonly  appear  to  be 
possessed  of  much  more  modesty  than  the  women ;  yet  1  have 
been  acquainted  with  some  young  squaws  that  appeared  really 
modest :  genuine  it  must  be,  as  they  were  under  very  little 
restraint  in  the  channel  of  education  or  custom. 

When  the  Indians  meet  one  another,  instead  of  saying  how 
do  you  do,  they  commonly  salute  in  the  following  manner : 
you  are  my  friend — the  reply  is,  truly  friend,  I  am  your  friend ; 
or,  cousin,  you  yet  exist — the  reply  is,  certainly  I  do.  They 
have  their  children  under  tolerable  command ;  seldom  ever 
whip  them,  and  their  common  mode  of  chastising  is  by  duck 
ing  them  in  cold  water ;  therefore  their  children  are  more 
obedient  in  the  winter  season  than  they  are  in  the  summer, 
though  they  are  then  not  so  often  ducked.  They  are  a  peaceable 
people,  and  scarcely  ever  wrangle  or  scold,  when  sober ;  but 
they  are  very  much  addicted  to  drinking,  and  men  and  women 
will  become  basely  intoxicated,  if  they  can  by  any  means  procure 
or  obtain  spirituous  liquor,  and  then  they  are  commonly  either 
extremely  merry  and  kind,  or  very  turbulent,  ill-humored  and 
disorderly. 

ON   THEIR   TRADITIONS    AND   RELIGIOUS    SENTIMENTS. 

As  the  family  that  I  was  adopted  into  was  intermarried  with 
the  Wyandots  and  Ottawas,  three  tongues  were  commonly 
spoken,  viz. :  Caughnewaga,  or  what  the  French  call  Iroque, 
also  the  Wyandot  and  Ottawa.  By  this  means  I  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  teaming  these  three  tongues  ;  and  I  found  that  these 
nations  varied  in  their  traditions  and  opinions  concerning  reli 
gion  ;  and  even  numbers  of  the  same  nation  differed  widely  in 
their  religious  sentiments.  Their  traditions  are  vague,  whim 
sical,  romantic,  and  many  of  them  scarce  worth  relating,  and 
not  any  of  them  reach  back  to  the  creation  of  the  world.  The 
Wyandots  come  the  nearest  to  this.  They  tell  of  a  squaw 
that  was  found  when  an  infant  in  the  water,  in  a  canoe,  made 
of  bulrushes.  This  squaw  became  a  great  prophetess,  and  did 
many  wonderful  things  :  she  turned  water  into  dry  land,  and  at 
length  made  this  continent,  which  was  at  that  time  only  a  very 
small  island,  and  but  a  few  Indians  in  it.  Though  they  were 
then  but  few,  they  had  not  sufficient  room  to  hunt ;  therefore 
this  squaw  went  to  the  water-side,  and  prayed  that  this  little 
island  might  be  enlarged.  The  Great  Being  then  heard  her 
prayer,  and  sent  great  numbers  of  water  tortoises  and  musk- 
rats,  which  brought  with  them  mud  and  other  materials  fo* 


INDIAN  CUSTOMS.  255 

this  island,  and  by  this  means,  they  say,  it  was 
increased  to  the  size  that  it  now  remains  ;  therefore,  they  say, 
that  the  white  people  ought  not  to  encroach  upon  them,  or  take 
their  land  from  them,  because  their  great  grandmother  made 
it.  They  say  that  about  this  time  the  angels  or  heavenly 
inhabitants,  as  they  call  them,  frequently  visited  them  and 
talked  with  their  forefathers,  and  gave  directions  how  to  pray, 
and  how  to  appease  the  Great  Being  when  he  was  offended. 
They  told  them  they  were  to  offer  sacrifice,  burn  tobacco,  buf 
falo  and  deer  bones  ;  but  they  were  not  to  burn  bear's  or 
raccoon's  bones  in  sacrifice. 

The  Ottawas  say  that  there  are  two  Great  Beings  that 
govern  and  rule  the  universe,  who  are  at  war  with  each  other; 
the  one  they  call  Maneto,  and  the  other  Matchemaneto.  They 
say  that  Maneto  is  all  kindness  and  love,  and  that  Matche 
maneto  is  an  evil  spirit,  that  delights  in  doing  mischief;  and 
some  of  them  think  that  they  are  equal  in  power,  and  there 
fore  worship  the  e\ril  spirit  out  of  a  principle  of  fear.  Others 
doubt  which  of  the  two  may  be  the  most  powerful,  and  there 
fore  endeavor  to  keep  in  favor  with  both,  by  giving  each  of 
them  some  kind  of  worship.  Others  say  that  Maneto  is  the 
first  great  cause,  and  therefore  must  be  all  powerful  and  su 
preme,  and  ought  to  be  adored  and  worshipped,  whereas 
Matchemaneto  ought  to  be  rejected  and  despised. 

Those  of  the  Ottawas  that  worship  the  evil  spirit  pretend 
to  be  great  conjurors.  I  think  if  there  is  any  such  thing  now 
in  the  world  as  witchcraft  it  is  among  these  people.  I  have 
been  told  wonderful  stories  concerning  their  proceedings,  but 
never  was  eye-witness  to  any  thing  that  appeared  evidently 
supernatural. 

Some  of  the  Wyandots  and  Caughnewagas  profess  to  be 
Roman  Catholics;  but  even  these  retain  many  of  the  notions 
of  their  ancestors.  Those  of  them  who  reject  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  hold  that  there  is  one  great  first  cause,  whom 
they  call  Owaneeyo,  that  rules  and  governs  the  universe,  and 
takes  care  of  all  his  creatures,  rational  and  irrational,  and  gives 
them  their  food  in  due  season,  and  hears  the  prayers  of  all 
those  that  call  upon  him ;  therefore  it  is  but  just  and  reasona 
ble  to  pray,  and  offer  sacrifice  to  this  Great  Being,  and  to  do 
those  things  that  are  pleasing  in  his  sight ;  but  they  differ 
widely  in  what  is  pleasing  or  displeasing  to  this  Great  Being. 
Some  hold  that  following  nature  or  their  own  propensities  is 
the  way  to  happiness,  and  cannot  be  displeasing  to  the  Deity, 
because  he  delights  in  the  happiness  of  his  creatures,  and  does 
nothing  in  vain,  but  gave  these  dispositions  with  a  design  to 
lead  to  happiness,  and  therefore  they  ought  to  be  followed. 


COLUNEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

Others  reject  this  opinion  altogether,  and  say  that  following 
their  own  propensities  in  this  manner  is  neither  the  means  of 
happiness  nor  the  way  to  please  the  Deity. 

Tecaughretanego  was  of  opinion  that  following  nature  in  a 
limited  sense  was  reasonable  and  right.  He  said  that  most 
of  the  irrational  animals,  by  following  their  natural  propen 
sities,  were  led  to  the  greatest  pitch  of  happiness  that  their 
natures  and  the  world  they  lived  in  would  admit  of.  He  said 
that  mankind  and  the  rattlesnakes  had  evil  dispositions,  that 
led  them  to  injure  themselves  and  others.  He  gave  instances 
of  this.  He  said  he  had  a  puppy  that  he  did  not  intend  to 
raise,  and  in  order  to  try  an  experiment  he  tied  this  puppy  on 
a  pole,  and  held  it  to  a  rattlesnake,  which  bit  it  several  times ; 
that  he  observed  the  snake  shortly  after  rolling  about  appar 
ently  in  great  misery,  so  that  it  appeared  to  have  poisoned 
itself  as  well  as  the  puppy.  The  other  instance  he  gave  was 
concerning  himself.  He  said  that  when  he  was  a  young  man 
he  was  very  fond  of  the  women,  and  at  length  got  the  venereal 
disease,  so  that,  by  following  this  propensity,  he  was  led  to 
injure  himself  and'others.  He  said  our  happiness  depends  on 
our  using  our  reason,  in  order  to  suppress  these  evil  disposi 
tions  ;  but  when  our  propensities  neither  lead  us  to  injure 
ourselves  nor  others  we  might  with  safety  indulge  them,  or 
even  pursue  them  as  the  means  of  happiness. 

The  Indians,  generally,  are  of  opinion  that  there  are  great 
numbers  of  inferior  deities,  which  they  call  Carreyagaroona, 
which  signifies  the  heavenly  inhabitants.  These  beings  they 
suppose  are  employed  as  assistants  in  managing  the  affairs  of 
the  universe,  and  in  inspecting  the  actions  of  men  ;  and  that 
even  the  irrational  animals  are  engaged  in  viewing  their 
actions,  and  bearing  intelligence  to  the  gods.  The  eagle,  for 
this  purpose,  with  her  keen  eye,  is  soaring  about  in  the  day, 
and  the  owl,  with  her  nightly  eye,  perched  on  the  trees  around 
their  camp  in  the  night;  therefore,  When  they  observe  the 
eagle  or  the  owl  near  they  immediately  offer  sacrifice,  or  burn 
tobacco,  that  they  may  have  a  good  report  to  carry  to  the  gods. 
They  say  that  there  are  also  great  numbers  of  evil  spirits, 
which  they  call  Onasahroona,  which  signifies  the  inhabitants 
of  the  lower  region.  These,  they  say,  are  employed  in  dis 
turbing  the  world,  and  the  good  spirits  are  always  going  after 
them,  and  setting  things  right,  so  that  they  are  constantly 
working  in  opposition  to  each  other.  Some  talk  of  a  future 
state,  but  not  with  any  certainty ;  at  best  their  notions  are 
vague  and  unsettled.  Others  deny  a  future  state  altogether, 
and  say  that,  after  death,  they  neither  think  nor  live. 

As  the  Caughnewagas  ana*  the   Six  Nations  speak  nearly 


INDIAN  CUSTOMS. 

the  same  language,  their  theology  is  also  nearly  alike.  When 
I  met  with  the  Shawanees,  or  Delawares,  as  I  could  not  speak 
their  tongue,  I  spoke  Ottawa  to  them,  and  as  it  bore  some 
resemblance  to  their  language,  we  understood  each  other  in 
some  common  affairs  ;  but,  as  I  could  only  converse  with  them 
very  imperfectly,  I  cannot  from  my  own  knowledge,  with  cer 
tainty,  give  any  account  of  their  theological  opinions. 


ON  THEIR  POLICE,  OR  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT, 

I  have  often  heard  of  Indian  kings,  but  never  saw  any. 
How  any  term  used  by  the  Indians  in  their  own  tongue,  for 
the  chief  man  of  a  nation,  could  be  rendered  king,  I  know  not. 
The  chief  of  a  nation  is  neither  a  supreme  ruler,  monarch,  or 
potentate ;  he  can  neither  make  war  or  peace,  leagues  or 
treaties;  he  cannot  impress  soldiers,  or  dispose  of  magazines; 
he  cannot  adjourn,  prorogue,  or  dissolve  a  general  assembly, 
nor  can  he  refuse  his  assent  to  their  conclusions,  or  in  any 
manner  control  them.  With  them  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
hereditary  succession,  title  of  nobility,  or  royal  blood,  even 
talked  of.  The  chief  of  a  nation,  even  with  the  consent  of  his 
assembly,  or  council,  cannot  raise  one  shilling  of  tax  off  the 
citizens,  but  only  receive  what  they  please  to  give  as  free  and 
voluntary  donations.  The  chief  of  a  nation  has  to  hunt  for 
his  living  as  any  other  citizen.  How  then  can  they,  with  any 
propriety, be  called  kings?  I  apprehend  that  the  white  people 
were  formerly  so  fond  of  the  name  of  kings,  and  so  ignorant  of 
their  power,  that  they  concluded  the  chief  man  of  a  nation 
must  be  a  king. 

As  they  are  illiterate,  they  consequently  have  no  written 
code  of  laws.  What  they  execute  as  laws  are  either  old  cus 
toms,  or  the  immediate  result  of  new  councils.  Some  of  their 
ancient  laws  or  customs  are  very  pernicious,  and  disturb  the 
public  weal.  Their  vague  law  of  marriage  is  a  glaring  in 
stance  of  this,  as  the  man  and  his  wife  are  under  no  legal 
obligation  to  live  together  if  they  are  both  willing  to  part. 
They  have  little  form  or  ceremony  among  them  in  matrimony, 
but  do  like  the  Israelites  of  old  ;  the  man  goes  in  unto  the 
woman,  and  she  becomes  his  wife.  The  years  of  puberty,  and 
the  age  of  consent,  is  about  fourteen  for  the  women,  and 
eighteen  for  the  men.  Before  I  was  taken  by  the  Indians,  I 
had  often  heard  that  in  the  ceremony  of  marriage  the  man 
gave  the  woman  a  deer's  leg,  and  she  gave  him  a  red  ear  of 
corn,  signifying  that  she  was  to  keep  him  in  bread,  and  he  was 
to  keep  her  in  meat.  I  inquired  of  them  concerning  the  truth 
of  this,  and  the)r  said  they  knew  nothing  of  it,  further  than 


1 


258 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 


that  they  had  heard  it  was  the  ancient  custom  among  some 
nations.  Their  frequent  changing  of  partners  prevents  propa 
gation,  creates  disturbances,  and  often  occasions  murder  and 
bloodshed,  though  this  is  commonly  committed  under  the  pre 
tence  of  being  drunk.  Their  impunity  to  crimes  committed 
when  intoxicated  with  spirituous  liquors,  or  their  admitting 
one  crime  as  an  excuse  for  another,  is  a  very  unjust  law  or 
custom. 

The  extremes  they  run  into  in  dividing  the  necessaries  of 
life  are  hurtful  to  the  public  weal ;  though  their  dividing  meat 
when  hunting  may  answer  a  valuable  purpose,  as  one  family 
may  have  success  one  day,  and  the  other  the  next ;  but  their 
carrying  this  custom  to  the  town,  or  to  agriculture,  is  striking 
at  the  root  of  industry,  as  industrious  persons  ought  to  be 
rewarded,  and  the  lazy  suffer  for  their  indolence. 

They  have  scarcely  any  penal  laws  ;  the  principal  punish 
ment  is  degrading ;  even  murder  is  not  punished  by  any  for 
mal  law,  only  the  friends  of  the  murdered  are  at  liberty  to  slay 
the  murderer  if  some  atonement  is  not  made.  Their  not  an 
nexing  penalties  to  their  laws  is  perhaps  not  as  great  a  crime, 
or  as  unjust  and  cruel,  as  the  bloody  laws  of  England,  which 
we  have  so  long  shamefully  practised,  and  which  are  to  be  in 
force  in  this  state  until  our  penitentiary  house  is  finished, 
which  is  now  building,  and  then  they  are  to  be  repealed. 

Let  us  also  take  a  view  of  the  advantages  attending  Indian 
police :  They  are  not  oppressed  or  perplexed  with  expensive 
litigation ;  they  are  not  injured  by  legal  robbery ;  they  have 
no  splendid  villains  that  make  themselves  grand  and  great 
upon  other  people's  labor ;  they  have  neither  church  nor  state 
erected  as  money-making  machines. 


ON  THEIR  DISCIPLINE  AND  METHOD  OF  WAR. 

I  have  often  heard  the  British  officers  call  the  Indians  the 
undisciplined  savages,  which  is  a  capital  mistake,  as  they  have 
all  the  essentials  of  discipline.  They  are  under  good  com 
mand,  and  punctual  in  obeying  orders ;  they  can  act  in  con 
cert,  and  when  their  officers  lay  a  plan  and  give  orders,  they 
will  cheerfully  unite  in  putting  all  their  directions  into  imme 
diate  execution ;  and  by  each  man  observing  the  motion  or 
movement  of  his  right-hand  companion,  they  can  communicate 
the  motion  from  right  to  left,  and  march  abreast  in  concert,  and 
in  scattered  order,  though  the  line  may  be  more  than  a  mile 
long,  and  continue,  if  occasion  requires,  for  a  considerable 
distance,  without  disorder  or  confusion.  They  can  perform 
various  necessary  manoeuvres,  either  slowly,  or  as  fast  as  they 


INDIAN  CUSTOMS.  259 

can  run;  they  can  form  a  circle  or  semicircle.  The  circle 
they  make  use  of  in  order  to  surround  their  enemy,  and  the 
semicircle  if  the  enemy  has  a  river  on  one  side  of  them. 
They  can  also  form  a  large  hollow  square,  face  out  and  take 
trees;  this  they  do  if  their  enemies  are  about  surrounding 
them,  to  prevent  being  shot  from  either  side  of  the  tree.  When 
they  go  into  battle  they  are  not  loaded  or  encumbered  with 
many  clothes,  as  they  commonly  fight  naked,  save  only  breech- 
clout,  leggins,  and  moccasins.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  cor 
poreal  punishment  used  in  order  to  bring  them  under  such 
good  discipline ;  degrading  is  the  only  chastisement,  and  they 
are  so  unanimous  in  this  that  it  effectually  answers  the  pur 
pose.  Their  officers  plan,  order,  and  conduct  matters  until 
they  are  brought  into  action,  and  then  each  man  is  to  fight  as 
though  he  was  to  gain  the  battle  himself.  General  orders  are 
commonly  given  in  time  of  battle  either  to  advance  or  retreat, 
and  is  done  by  a  shout  or  yell,  which  is  well  understood,  and 
then  they  retreat  or  advance  in  concert.  They  are  generally 
well  equipped,  and  exceedingly  expert  and  active  in  the  use  of 
arms.  Could  it  be  supposed  that  undisciplined  troops  could 
defeat  Generals  Braddock,  Grant,  &c.  ?  It  may  be  said  by 
some  that  the  French  were  also  engaged  in  this  war.  True, 
they  were ;  yet  I  know  it  was  the  Indians  that  laid  the  plan, 
and  with  small  assistance  put  it  into  execution.  The  Indians 
had  no  aid  from  the  French,  or  any  other  power,  when  they 
besieged  fort  Pitt  in  the  year  1763,  and  cut  off  the  communi 
cation  for  a  considerable  time  between  that  post  and  fort 
Loudon,  and  would  have  defeated  General  Bouquet's  army 
(who  were  on  the  way  to  raise  the  siege)  had  it  not  been  for 
the  assistance  of  the  Virginia  volunteers.  They  had  no  Brit 
ish  troops  with  them  when  they  defeated  Colonel  Crawford, 
near  the  Sandusky,  in  the  time  of  the  American  war  with 
Great  Britain ;  or  when  they  defeated  Colonel  Loughrie,  on  the 
Ohio,  near  the  Miami,  on  his  way  to  meet  General  Clarke : 
this  was  also  in  the  time  of  the  British  war.  It  was  the  In 
dians  alone  that  defeated  Colonel  Todd,  in  Kentucky,  near  the 
Blue  Licks,  in  the  year  1782 ;  and  Colonel  Harmer,  betwixt 
the  Ohio  and  lake  Erie,  in  the  year  1790,  and  General  St. 
Clair,  in  the  year  1791 ;  and  it  is  said  that  there  were  more  of 
our  men  killed  at  this  defeat  than  there  were  in  any  one  battle 
during  our  contest  with  Great  Britain.  They  had  no  aid 
when  they  fought  even  the  Virginia  riflemen,  almost  a  whole 
day,  at  the  Great  Kenhawa,  in  the  year  1774 ;  and  when  they 
found  they  could  not  prevail  against  the  Virginians  they  made 
a  most  artful  retreat.  Notwithstanding  they  had  the  Ohio  to 
cross,  some  continued  firing  whilst  others  were  crossing  the 


260  COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

river;  in  this  manner  they  proceeded,  until  they  all  got  over, 
before  the  Virginians  knew  that  they  had  retreated,  and  in  this 
retreat  they  carried  off  all  their  wounded.  In  the  most  of  the 
feregoing  defeats  they  fought  with  an  inferior  number,  though 
in  this,  1  believe,  it  was  not  the  case. 

Nothing  can  be  more  unjustly  represented  than  the  different 
accounts  we  have  had  of  their  number,  from  time  to  time,  both 
by  their  own  computations,  and  that  of  the  British.  While  I 
was  among  them  I  saw  the  account  of  the  number  that  they, 
in  those  parts,  gave  to  the  French,  and  kept  it  by  me.  When 
they,  in  their  own  council-house,  were  taking  an  account  of 
their  number,  with  a  piece  of  bark,  newly  stripped,  and  a  small 
stick,  which  answered  the  end  of  a  slate  and  pencil,  I  took  an 
account  of  the  different  nations  and  trihes,  which  I  added  to 
gether,  and  found  there  were  not  half  the  number  which  they 
had  given  the  French  ;  and  though  they  were  then  their  allies, 
and  lived  among  them,  it  was  not  easy  finding  out  the  decep 
tion,  as  they  were  a  wandering  set,  and  some  of  them  almost 
always  in  the  woods  hunting.  I  asked  one  of  the  chiefs  what 
wus  their  reason  for  making  such  different  returns.  He  said 
it  was  for  political  reasons,  in  order  to  obtain  greater  presents 
from  the  French,  by  telling  them  they  could  not  divide  such 
and  such  quantities  of  goods  among  so  many. 

In  the  year  of  General  Bouquet's  last  campaign,  1764,  I 
saw  the  official  return  made  by  the  British  officers  of  the  num 
ber  of  Indians  that  were  in  arms  against  us  that  year,  which 
amounted  to  thirty  thousand.  As  t  was  then  a  lieutenant  in 
the  British  service,  I  told  them  I  was  of  opinion  that  there 
was  not  above  one  thousand  in  arms  against  us,  as  they  were 
divided  by  Broadstreet's  army,  being  then  at  lake  Erie.  The 
British  officers  hooted  at  me,  and  said  they  could  not  make 
England  sensible  of  the .  difficulties  they  labored  under  in 
fighting  them,  as  England  expected  that  their  troops  could 
fiirht  the  undisciplined  savages  in  America  five  to  one,  as  they 
did  the  East  Indians,  and  therefore  my  report  would  not  an 
swer  their  purpose,  as  they  could  not  give  an  honorable  account 
of  the  war  but  by  augmenting  their  number.  I  am  of  opinion 
thai  from  Braddock's  war  until  the  present  time  there  never 
were  more  than  three  thousand  Indians,  at  any  time,  in  arms 
against  us  west  of  fort  Pitt,  and  frequently  not  half  that  num 
ber.  According  to  the  Indians'  own  accounts,  during  the 
whole  of  Braddock's  war,  or  from  1755  till  17-58,  they  killed 
or  took  fifty  of  our  people  for  one  that  they  lost.  In  the  war 
that  commenced  in  the  year  1763  they  killed  comparatively 
few  of  our  people,  and  lest  more  of  theirs,  as  the  frontiers 
(especially  the  Virginians)  had  learned  something  of  the.ir 


INDIAN  CUSTOMS.  261 

method  of  war ;  yet  they,  in  this  war,  according1  to  their  own 
accounts,  (which  i  believe  to  be  true,)  killed  or  took  ten  of  our 
people  for  one  they  lost. 

Let  us  now  take  a  view  of  the  blood  and  treasure  that  was 
spent  in  opposing  comparatively  a  few  Indian  warriors,  with 
only  some  assistance  from  the  French,  the  first  four  years  of 
the  war.  Additional  to  the  amazing  destruction  and  slaughter 
thai  the  frontiers  sustained  from  James  river  to  Susquehanna, 
and  about  thirty  miles  broad,  the  following  campaigns  were 
also  carried  on  against  the  Indians  :  General  Braddock's,  in 
the  year  1755 ;  Colonel  Armstrong's,  against  the  Cattanyan 
town  on  the  Alleghany,  1757  ;  Gen.  Forbes's,  in  175S;  Gen. 
Stanwick's,  in  1759;  General  Monkton's,  in  1760;  Colonel 
Bouquet's,  in  1761  and  1763,  when  he  fought  the  battle  of 
Brushy  Run,  and  lost  above  one  hundred  men,  but,  by  the 
assistance  of  the  Virginia  volunteers,  drove  the  Indians  ;  Col. 
Armstrong's,  up  the  west  branch  of  Susquehanna,  in  1763 ; 
General  Broadstreet's,  up  lake  Erie,  in  1764;  Gen.  Bouquet's 
against  the  Indians  at  Muskin^um,  1764 ;  Lord  Dunmore's,  in 
1774;  Gen.  M'Intosh's,  in  1778;  Colonel  Crawford's,  shortly 
after  his;  Gen.  Clarke's,  in  1773,  1780;  Colonel  Bowman's, 
in  1779;  General  Clarke's,  in  1782,  against  the  Wabash  in 
17S6  ;  Geri.  Logan's,  against  the  Shawanees,  in  1786;  Gen. 

Wilkinson's,  in ;  Colonel  Harmer's,  in  1790;  and  Gen. 

St.  Clair's,  in  1791  ;  which,  in  all,  are  twenty-two  campaigns, 
besides  smaller  expeditions;  such  as  the  French  Creek  expe 
dition,  Colonel  Edvvards's,  Loughrie's,  &c.  All  these  were 
exclusive  of  the  number  of  men  thai  were  internally  employed 
as  scouting  parties,  and  in  erecting  forts,  guarding  stations,. £e* 
When  we  take  the  foregoing  occurrences  into  consideration, 
may  we  not  reasonably  conclude,  that  they  are  the  best  disci 
plined  troops  in  the  known  world  ?  Is  it  not  the  best  discipline 
that  has  the  greatest  tendency  to  annoy  the  enemy  and  save 
their  o\vn  men  ?  I  apprehend  that  the  Indian  discipline  is  as 
well  calculated  to  answer  the  purpose  in  the  woods  of  America, 
as  the  British  discipline  in  Flanders  ;  and  British  discipline  in 
the  woods  is  the  way  to  have  men  slaughtered,  with  scarcely 
any  chance  of  defending  themselves. 

Let  us  take  a  view  of  the  benefits  we  have  received  by  what 
little  xve  have  learned  of  their  art  of  war,  which  cost  us  dear, 
and  the  loss  we  have  sustained  for  want  of  it,  and  then  see  if 
it  will  not  be  well  worth  our  while  to  retain  what  we  have,  and 
also  to  endeavor  to  improve  in  this  necessary  branch  of  busi 
ness.  Though  we  have  made  considerable  proficiency  in  this 
line,  and  in  some  respects  outdo  them,  viz.  as  marksmen,  and 
m  cutting  our.  rifles,  and  keeping  them  in  good  order ;  yet  I 


COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

| 

apprehend  we  are  far  behind  in  their  manoeuvres,  or  in  being 
able  to  surprise,  or  prevent  a  surprise.  May  we  not  conclude, 
that  the  progress  we  had  made  in  their  art  of  war  contributed 
considerably  towards  our  success,  in  various  respects,  when 
contending  with  Great  Britain  for  liberty  ?  Had  the  British 
king  attempted  to  enslave  us  before  Braddock's  war,  in  all  pro 
bability  he  might  readily  have  done  it,  because,  except  the  New 
Englanders,  who  had  formerly  been  engaged  in  war  with  the 
Indians,  we  were  unacquainted  with  any  kind  of  war.  But 
after  fighting  such  a  subtle  and  barbarous  enemy  as  the  In 
dians,  we  were  not  terrified  at  the  approach  of  British  red-coats. 
Was  not  Burgoyne's  defeat  accomplished,  in  some  measure,  by 
the  Indian  mode  of  fighting  ?  And  did  not  General  Morgan's 
riflemen,  and  many  others,  fight  with  greater  success  in  con 
sequence  of  what  they  had  learned  of  their  art  of  war  ?  Ken 
tucky  would  not  have  been  settled  at  the  time  it  was,  had  the 
Virginians  been  altogether  ignorant  of  this  method  of  war. 

In  Braddock's  war  the  frontiers  were  laid  waste  for  above 
three  hundred  miles  long,  and  generally  about  thirty  broad, 
excepting  some  that  were  living  in  forts,  and  many  hundreds, 
or  perhaps  thousands,  killed  or  made  captives,  and  horses,  and 
all  kinds  of  property  carried  off.  But,  in  the  next  Indian  war, 
though  we  had  the  same  Indians  to  cope  with,  the  frontiers 
almost  all  stood  their  ground,  because  they  were  by  this  time, 
in  some  measure,  acquainted  with  their  manoeuvres ;  and  the 
want  of  this  in  the  first  war  was  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  many 
hundreds  of  our  citizens,  and  much  treasure. 

Though  large  volumes  have  been  written  on  morality,  yet  it 
may  be  all  summed  up  in  saying,  do  as  you  would  wish  to  be 
done  by.  So  the  Indians  sum  up  the  art  of  war  in  the  follow 
ing  manner. 

The  business  of  the  private  warriors  is  to  be  under  command, 
or  punctually  to  obey  orders ;  to  learn  to  march  abreast  in 
scattered  order,  so  as  to  be  in  readiness  to  surround  the  enemy, 
or  to  prevent  being  surrounded ;  to  be  good  marksmen,  and 
active  in  the  use  of  arms ;  to  practise  running ;  to  learn  to 
endure  hunger  or  hardships  with  patience  and  fortitude  ;  to  tell 
the  truth  at  all  times  to  their  officers,  but  more  especially  when 
sent  out  to  spy  the  enemy. 

Concerning  Officers. — They  say  that  it  would  be  absurd  to 
appoint  a  man  an  officer  whose  skill  and  courage  had  never 
been  tried  ;  that  all  officers  should  be  advanced  only  according 
to  merit ;  that  no  one  man  should  have  the  absolute  command 
of  an  army ;  that  a  council  of  officers  are  to  determine  when 
and  how  an  attack  is  to  be  made ;  that  it  is  the  business  of  the 
officers  to  lay  plans  to  take  every  advantage  of  the  enemy ;  to 


INDIAN  CUSTOMS.  263 

ambush  and  surprise  them,  and  to  prevent  being  ambushed  and 
surprised  themselves.  It  is  the  duty  of  officers  to  prepare  and 
deliver  speeches  to  the  men,  in  order  to  animate  and  encourage 
them  ;  and  on  the  march,  to  prevent  the  men,  at  any  time,  from 
getting  into  a  huddle,  because  if  the  enemy  should  surround 
them  in  this  position  they  would  be  exposed  to  the  enemy's 
fire.  It  is  likewise  their  business  at  all  times  to  endeavor  to 
annoy  their  enemy,  and  save  their  own  men,  and  therefore 
ought  never  to  bring  on  an  attack  without  considerable  advan 
tage,  or  without  what  appeared  to  them  the  sure  prospect  of 
victory,  and  that  with  the  loss  of  few  men  ;  and  if  at  any  time 
they  should  be  mistaken  in  this,  and  are  like  to  lose  many  men 
by  gaining  the  victory,  it  is  their  duty  to  retreat,  and  wait  for 
a  better  opportunity  of  defeating  their  enemy,  without  the  dan 
ger  of  losing  so  many  men.  Their  conduct  proves  that  they 
act  upon  these  principles  ;  therefore  it  is  that,  from  Braddock's 
war  to  the  present  time,  they  have  seldom  ever  made  an  un 
successful  attack.  The  battle  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Ken- 
hawa  is  the  greatest  instance  of  this ;  and  even  then,  though 
the  Indians  killed  about  three  for  one  they  lost,  yet  they  re 
treated.  The  loss  of  the  Virginians  in  this  action  was  seventy 
killed,  and  the  same  number  wounded.  The  Indians  lost 
twenty  killed  on  the  field,  and  eight  who  died  afterwards  of 
their  wounds.  This  was  the  greatest  loss  of  men  that  I  ever 
knew  the  Indians  to  sustain  in  any  one  battle.  They  will 
commonly  retreat  if  their  men  are  falling  fast ;  they  will  not 
stand  cutting  like  the  Highlanders  or  other  British  troops  ;  but 
this  proceeds  from  a  compliance  with  their  rules  of  war  rather 
than  cowardice.  If  they  are  surrounded  they  will  fight  while 
there  is  a  man  of  tnem  alive,  rather  than  surrender.  When 
Colonel  John  Armstrong  surrounded  the  Cattanyan  town,  on 
the  Alleghany  river,  Captain  Jacobs,  a  Delaware  chief,  with 
some  warriors,  took  possession  of  a  house,  defended  themselves 
for  some  time,  and  killed  a  number  of  our  men.  As  Jacobs 
could  speak  English,  our  people  called  on  him  to  surrender. 
He  said  that  he  and  his  men  were  warriors,  and  they  would 
all  fight  while  life  remained.  He  was  again  told  that  they 
should  be  well  used  if  they  would  only  surrender ;  and  if  not, 
the  house  should  be  burned  down  over  their  heads.  Jacobs 
replied,  he  could  eat  fire  ;  and  when  the  house  was  in  a  flame, 
he,  and  they  that  were  with  him,  came  out  in  a  fighting  posi 
tion,  and  were  all  killed.  As  they  are  a  sharp,  active  kind  of 
people,  and  war  is  their  principal  study,  in  this  they  have 
arrived  at  considerable  perfection.  We  may  learn  of  the  In 
dians  what  is  useful  and  laudable,  and  at  the  same  time  lay 
aside  their  barbarous  proceedings.  It  is  much  to  be  lamented, 


37 


264        COLONEL  SMITH'S  ADVENTURES. 

that  some  of  our  frontier  riflemen  are  too  prone  to  imitate  them 
in  their  inhumanity.  During  the  British  war,  a  considerable 
number  of  men  from  below  fort  Pitt  crossed  the  Ohio,  and 
marched  into  a  town  of  friendly  Indians,  chiefly  Delawares, 
who  professed  the  Moravian  religion.  As  the  Indians  appre 
hended  no  danger,  they  neither  lifted  arms  nor  fled.  After 
these  riflemen  were  some  time  in  the  town,  and  the  Indians 
altogether  in  their  power,  in  cool  blood  they  massacred  the 
whole  town,  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex.  This  was  an 
act  of  barbarity  beyond  any  thing  I  ever  knew  to  be  committed 
by  the  savages  themselves. 

Why  have  we  not  made  greater  proficiency  in  the  Indian  art 
of  war  ?  Is  it  because  we  are  too  proud  to  imitate  them,  even 
though  it  should  be  a  means  of  preserving  the  lives  of  many 
of  our  citizens  ?  No  !  We  are  not  above  borrowing  language 
from  them,  such  as  homony,  pone,  tomahawk,  &c.,  which  is  of 
little  or  no  use  to  us.  I  apprehend,  that  the  reasons  why  we 
have  not  improved  more  in  this  respect  are  as  follow :  no 
important  acquisition  is  to  be  obtained  but  by  attention  and 
diligence ;  and  as  it  is  easier  to  learn  to  move  and  act  in  con 
cert  in  close  order  in  the  open  plain,  than  to  act  in  concert  in 
scattered  order  in  the  woods,  so  it  is  easier  to  learn  our  disci 
pline  than  the  Indian  manoeuvres.  They  train  up  their  boys 
in  the  art  of  war  from  the  time  they  are  twelve  or  fourteen 
years  of  age ;  whereas,  the  principal  chance  our  people  had  of 
learning  was  by  observing  their  manoeuvres  when  in  action 
against  us.  I  have  been  long  astonished  that  no  one  has  writ 
ten  upon  this  important  subject,  as  their  art  of  war  would  not 
only  be  of  use  to  us  in  case  of  another  rupture  with  them  ;  but 
were  only  part  of  our  men  taught  this  art,  accompanied  with 
our  continental  discipline,  I  think  no  European  power,  after 
trial,  would  venture  to  show  its  head  in  the  American  woods. 

If  what  I  have  written  should  meet  the  approbation  of  my 
countrymen,  perhaps  I  may  publish  more  upon  this  subject  in 
a  future  edition. 


265 


A   FAITHFUL  NARRATIVE 

OP  THE  MANY  DANGERS  AND  SUFFERINGS,  AS  WELL  AS 
WONDERFUL  AND  SURPRISING  DELIVERANCES,  OF  ROBERT 
EASTBURN,  DURING  HIS  LATE  CAPTIVITY  AMONG  THE 
INDIANS.  WRITTEN  EY  HIMSELF.  Published  at  the  earnest 
request  of  many  persons,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Public.  With  a  recommen 
datory  Preface  by  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent.— Psalms  24,  6,  7,  and  193,  2,  4. 
Philadelphia :  Printed.  Boston :  Reprinted  and  sold  by  Green  &  Russell,  oppo 
site  the  Probate  Office  in  Queen  street,  1758. 

PREFACE. — Candid  Reader :  The  author  (and  subject)  of 
the  ensuing  narrative  (who  is  a  deacon  of  our  church,  and  has 
been  so  for  many  years)  is  of  such  an  established  good  char 
acter,  that  he  needs  no  recommendation  of  others  where  he  is 
known  ;  a  proof  of  which  was  the  general  joy  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  this  city,  occasioned  by  his  return  from  a  miserable 
captivity ;  together  with  the  readiness  of  divers  persons  to  con 
tribute  to  the  relief  of  himself  and  necessitous  family,  without 
any  request  of  his,  or  the  least  motion  of  that  tendency.  But 
seeing  the  following  sheets  are  like  to  spread  into  many  places 
where  he  is  not  known,  permit  me  to  say  that,  upon  long 
acquaintance,  I  have  found  him  to  be  a  person  of  candor, 
integrity,  and  sincere  piety,  whose  testimony  may  with  safety 
be  depended  upon;  which  give  his  narrative  the  greater 
weight,  and  may  induce  to  read  it  with  the  greater  pleasure. 
The  design  of  it  is  evidently  pious  ;  the  matters  contained  in 
23 


266  ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY. 

it,  and  manner  of  handling  them,  will,  I  hope,  be  esteemed 
by  the  impartial  to  be  entertaining  and  improving.  I  wish  it 
may,  by  the  divine  benediction,  be  of  great  and  durable  ser 
vice.  I  am  thy  sincere  servant  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

GILBERT  TENNENT. 
Philadelphia,  January  19th,  1758. 

KIND  READERS  :  On  my  return  from  my  captMty  I  had  no 
thoughts  of  publishing  any  observations  of  mine  to  the  world 
in  this  manner.  As  I  had  no  opportunity  to  keep  a  journal, 
and  my  memory  being  broken  and  capacity  small,  I  was 
disinclined  to  undertake  it.  But  a  number  of  friends  were 
pressing  in  their  persuasions  that  I  should  do  it ;  with  whose 
motions  I  complied,  from  a  sincere  regard  to  God,  my  king  and 
country,  so  far  as  I  know  my  own  heart.  The  following 
pages  contain,  as  far  as  I  can  remember,  the  most  material 
passages  that  happened  within  the  compass  of  my  observation 
while  a  prisoner  in  Canada.  The  facts  therein  related  are 
certainly  true,  but  the  way  of  representing  some  things  espe 
cially,  is  not  so  regular,  clear  and  strong  as  I  could  wish  ;  but 
I  trust  it  will  be  some  apology,  that  I  am  not  so  much  acquaint 
ed  with  performances  of  this  kind  as  many  others,  who  may 
be  hereby  excited  to  give  better  representations  of  things,  far 
beyond  my  knowledge.  I  remain  your  unfeigned  well-wisher 
and  humble  servant, 

ROBERT  EASTBURN. 

Philadelphia,  January  19,  1758. 


A  FAITHFUL  NARRATIVE,  &c. — About  thirty  tradesmen  and 
myself  arrived  at  Captain  Williams'  fort,  at  the  carrying 
place,  in  our  way  to  Oswego,  the  26th  of  March,  1756. 
Captain  Williams  informed  me  that  he  was  like  to  be  cum 
bered  in  the  fort,  and  therefore  advised  us  to  take  the  Indian 
house  for  our  lodging.  About  ten  o'clock  next  day,  a  negro  man 
came  running  down  the  road  and  reported  that  our  slaymen 
were  all  taken  by  the  enemy.  Captain  Williams,  on  hearing 
this,  sent  a  sergeant  and  about  twelve  men  to  see  if  it  were  true. 
I  being  at  the  Indian  house,  and  not  thinking  myself  safe  there, 
in  case  of  an  attack,  and  being  also  sincerely  willing  to  serve 
my  king  and  country,  in  the  best  manner  I  could  in  my  pres 
ent  circumstances,  asked  him  if  he  would  take  company.  He 
replied,  with  all  his  heart !  hereupon  I  fell  into  the  rear  with 
my  arms,  and  marched  after  them.  When  we  had  advanced 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  we  heard  a  shot,  followed  with  dole- 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY.  267 

ful  cries  of  a  dying  man,  which  excited  me  to  advance,  in 
order  to  discover  the  enemy,  who  I  soon  perceived  were  pre 
pared  to  receive  us.  In  this  difficuli  situation,  seeing  a  large 
pine  tree  near,  I  repaired  to  it  for  shelter  ;  and  while  the  enemy 
were  viewing  our  party,  I,  having  a  good  chance  of  killing 
two  at  a  shot,  quickly  discharged  at  them,  but  could  not  cer 
tainly  know  what  execution  was  done  till  some  time  after. 
Our  company  likewise  discharged  and  retreated.  Seeing 
myself  in  danger  of  being  surrounded,  I  was  obliged  to  retreat 
a  different  course,  and  to  my  great  surprise  fell  into  a  deep 
mire,  which  the  enemy  by  following  my  track  in  a  light  snow 
soon  discovered,  and  obliged  me  to  surrender,  to  prevent  a  cruel 
death ;  they  standing  ready  to  drive  their  darts  into  my  body, 
in  case  I  refused  to  deliver  up  my  arms.  Presently  after  I  was 
taken,  I  was  surrounded  by  a  great  number,  who  stripped  me 
of  my  clothing,  hat  and  neckcloth,  so  that  I  had  nothing  left 
but  a  flannel  vest  without  sleeves,  put  a  rope  on  my  neck, 
bound  my  arms  fast  behind  me,  put  a  long  band  round  my 
body,  and  a  large  pack  on  my  back,  struck  me  a  severe  blow 
on  the  head,  and  drove  me  through  the  woods  before  them.  It 
is  not  easy  to  conceive  how  distressing  such  a  condition  is. 
In  the  mean  time  I  endeavored  with  all  my  little  remaining 
strength  to  lift  up  my  eyes  to  God,  from  whom  alone  I  could 
with  reason  expect  relief. 

Seventeen  or  eighteen  prisoners  were  soon  added  to  our 
number,  one  of  whom  informed  me  that  the  Indians  were 
angry  with  me,  reported  to  some  of  their  chiefs  that  I  had  fired 
on  them,  wounded  one  and  killed  another ;  for  which  he 
doubted  not  they  would  kill  me. 

I  had  not  as  yet  learned  what  number  the  enemy's  parties 
consisted  of;  there  being  only  about  one  hundred  Indians  who 
had  lain  in  ambush  on  the  road  to  kill  or  take  into  captivity 
all  that  passed  between  the  two  forts.  Here  an  interpreter 
came  to  me  to  inquire  what  strength  Captain  Williams  had  to 
defend  his  fort.  After  a  short  pause  I  gave  such  a  discour 
aging  answer,  (yet  consistent  with  truth,)*  as  prevented  their 
attacking  it,  and  of  consequence  the  effusion  of  much  blood. 
Hereby  it  evidently  appeared  that  I  was  suffered  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy  to  promote  the  good  of  my  country 
men,  to  better  purpose  than  I  could  by  continuing  with  them. 

In  the  mean  time   the  enemy  determined  to  destroy  Bull's 

*  It  is  a  great  pity  that  our  modern  managers  of  Indian  affairs  had  not 
indulged  in  such  scrupulous  veracity.  They  would  probably  say  our 
captive  was  "  more  nice  than  wise."  But  perhaps  he  was  like  an  old 
acquaintance  of  mine,  who  used  to  say  sometimes  that  "  he  al-most  told  a 
lie,"  though  not  quite. — Ed. 


268  ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY. 

fort,  (at  the  head  of  Wood  Creek,)  which  they  soon  effected ; 
all  being  put  to  the  sword,  except  five  persons,  the  fort  burnt, 
the  provisions  and  powder  destroyed,  (saving  only  a  little  for 
their  own  use.)  'Wien  they  retired  to  the  woods  and  joined  their 
main  body,  including  which,  consisted  of  four  hundred  French 
and  three  hundred  Indians,  commanded  by  one  of  the  principal 
gentlemen  of  Quebec.  As  soon  as  they  got  together,  (having  a 
priest  with  them,)  they  fell  on  their  knees  and  returned  thanks 
for  their  victory.  An  example  this,  worthy  of  imitation !  an 
example  which  may  make  profane,  pretended  Protestants 
blush,  if  they  are  not  lost  to  all  sense  of  shame,*1  who,  instead 
of  acknowledging  a  God,  or  providence,  in  their  military 
Undertakings,. are  continually  reproaching  him  with  oaths  and 
curses.  Is  it  any  wonder  the  attempts  of  such  are  blasted 
with  disappointment  and  disgrace  ? 

The  enemy  had  several  wounded  men,  both  French  and 
Indians,  among  them,  whom  they  carried  on  their  backs ; 
besides  these,  about  fifteen  of  their  number  were  killed,  and 
of  us  about  forty.  It  being  by  this  time  near  dark,  and  some 
Indians  drunk,  they  only  marched  about  four  miles  and 
encamped.  The  Indians  untied  my  arms,  cut  hemlock  boughs 
and  strewed  round  the  fire,  tied  my  band  to  two  trees,  with  my 
back  on  the  green  boughs,  (by  the  fire,)  covered  me  with  an 
old  blanket,  and  lay  down  across  my  band,  on  each  side,  to 
prevent  my  escape  while  they  slept. 

Sunday  the  28th,  we  rose  early  ;  the  commander  ordered  a 
hasty  retreat  towards  Canada,  for  fear  of  General  Johnson. 
In  the  mean  time,  one  of  our  men  said  he  understood  the 
French  and  Indians  designed  to  join  a  strong  party,  and  fall 
on  Osvvego,  before  our  forces  at  that  p]ace  could  get  any  pro 
vision  or  succor;  having,  as  they  thought,  put  a  stop  to  our 
relieving  them  for  a  time.  When  encamped  in  the  evening, 
the  commanding  officer  ordered  the  Indians  to  bring  me  to  his 
tent,  and  asked  me  by  an  interpreter  if  I  thought  General 
Johnson  would  follow  them.  I  told  him  I  judged  not,  but  rather 
thought  he  would  proceed  to  Osvvego,  (which  was  indeed  my 
sentiment,  grounded  upon  prior  information,  and  then  expressed 
to  prevent  the  execution  of  their  design.)  He  further  inquired 
what  my  trade  was.  I  told  him,  that  of  a  smith.  He  then 
persuaded  me,  when  I  got  to  Canada,  to  send  for  my  wife, 
"  for,"  said  he,  "  you  can  get  a  rich  living  there."  But  when 
he  saw  that  he  could  not  prevail,  he  asked  me  no  more  ques* 

*  What  would  Captain  Gyles  have  said  to  such  praise  of  Catholics  and 
their  religion  ?  and  by  a  Protestant  too.  He  would  no  doubt  have  said 
that  the  devil  had  helped  them,  inasmuch  as  no  good  spirit  would  have 
heard  the  prayers  of  "  wicked  papists." — Ed. 


ROBERT  EASTBURFS  CAFUVITY.  269 

tions,  but  commanded  me  to  my  Indian  master.  Having  this 
opportunity  of  conversation,  I  informed  the  general  that  his 
Indian  warriors  had  stripped  me  of  my  clothing,  and  would  be 
glad  if  he  would  be  good  enough  to  order  me  some  relief;  to 
which  he  replied,  "  I  should  get  clothes  when  I  came  to  Can 
ada,"  which  was  cold  comfort  to  one  almost  frozen.  On  my 
return,  the  Indians,  perceiving  I  was  unwell  and  could  hot  eat 
their,  coarse  food,  ordered  some  chocolate,  which  they  had 
brought  from  the  carrying  place,  to  be  boiled  for  me,  and  see 
ing  me  eat  that  appeared  pleased.  A  strong  guard  was 
kept  every  night.  One  of  our  men  being  weakened  by  his 
wounds,  and  rendered  unable  to  keep  pace  with  them,  was 
killed  and  scalped  on  the  road  !  I  was  all  this  time  almost 
naked,  travelling  through  deep  snow,  and  wading  through  riv 
ers,  cold  as  ice  ! 

After  seven  days'  march,  we  arrived  at  lake  Ontario,  where 
I  eat  some  horse-flesh,  which  tasted  very  agreeably,  for  to  a 
hungry  man,  as  Solomon  observes,  every  bitter  thing  is  sweet. 
On  the  Friday  before  we  arrived  at  the  lake,  the  Indians  killed 
a  porcupine.  The  Indians  threw  it  on  a  large  fire,  burnt  off 
the  hair  and  quills,  roasted  and  eat  of  it,  with  whom  I  had  a 
part. 

The  French  carried  several  of  their  wounded  men  all  the 
way  upon  their  backs ;  many  of  whom  wore  no  breeches  in 
their  travels  in  this  cold  season,  being  strong  hardy  men. 
The  Indians  had  three  of  their  party  wounded,  which  they 
likewise  carried  on  their  backs.  I  wish  there  was  more  of 
this  hardiness,  so  necessary  for  war,  in  our  nation,  which  would 
open  a  more  encouraging  scene  than  appears  at  present.  The 
prisoners  were  so  divided,  that  but  few  could  converse  together 
on  the  march,  and  what  was  still  more  disagreeable  and  dis 
tressing,  an  Indian  who  had  a  large  bunch  of  green  scalps, 
taken  off  our  men's  heads,  marched  before  rne,  and  another  with 
a  sharp  spear  behind,  to  drive  me  after  him,  by  which  means 
the  scalps  were  often  close  to  my  face.  And  as  we  marched, 
they  frequently  every  day  gave  the  dead  shout,  which  was  re 
peated  as  many  times  as  there  were  captives  and  scalps  taken. 

I  may  with  justice  and  truth  observe,  that  our  enemies  leave 
no  stone  unturned  to  compass  our  ruin.  They  pray,  work, 
and  travel  to  bring  it  about,  and  are  unwearied  in  the  pursuit, 
while  many  among  us  sleep  in  a  storm  which  has  laid  a  good 
part  of  our  country  desolate,  and  threatens  the  whole  with 
destruction. 

April  4th.  Several  French  batteaux  met  us,  and  brought  a 
large  supply  of  provision,  the  sight  of  which  caused  great  joy, 
for  we  were  in  great  want.  Then  a  place  was  soon  erected  to 


270  ROBERT  EASTBURN-S  CAPTIVITY. 

celebrate  mass  in,  which  being  ended,  we  all  went  over  the 
mouth  of  a  river,  where  it  empties  itself  into  the  east  end  of 
lake  Ontario.  A  great  part  of  our  company  set  off  on  foot 
towards  Oswegatchy,  while  the  rest  were  ordered  into  batteaux 
and  carried  towards  the  extreme  of  St.  Lawrence,  (where  that 
river  takes  its  beginning,)  but  by  reason  of  bad  weather,  wind, 
rain,  and  snow,  whereby  the  waters  of  the  lake  were  troubled, 
we  were  obliged  to  lie  by,  and  haul  our  batteaux  on  shore. 
Here  I  lay  on  the  cold  shore  two  days.  Tuesday  set  off,  and 
entered  the  head  of  St.  Lawrence  in  the  afternoon  ;  came  too 
late  at  night,  made  fires,  but  did  not  lie  down  to  sleep.  Em 
barking  long  before  day,  and  after  some  miles'  progress  down 
the  river,  saw  many  fires  on  our  right  hand,  which  were  made 
by  the  men  who  left  us  and  went  by  land.  With  them  we  staid 
till  day,  then  again  embarked  in  our  batteaux.  The  weather 
was  very  bad,  (it  snowed  fast  all  day;)  near  night  we  arrived 
at  Oswegatchy. ,  I  was  almost  starved  to  death,  but  hoped  to 
stay  in  this  Indian  town  till  warm  weather  ;  slept  in  an  Indian 
wigwam,  rose  early  in  the  morning,  (being  Thursday,)  and 
soon  to  my  grief  discovered  my  disappointment.  Several  of 
the  prisoners  had  leave  to  tarry  here,  but  I  must  go  two  hun 
dred  miles  further  down  stream,  to  another  Indian  town.  The 
moving  being  extremely  cold,  I  applied  to  a  French  merchant 
or  trader  for  some  old  rags  of  clothing,  for  I  was  almost  naked, 
but  to  no  purpose. 

About  ten  o'clock,  I  was  ordered  into  a  boat,  to  go  down  the 
river,  with  eight  or  nine  Indians,  one  of  whom  was  the  man 
wounded  in  the  skirmish  before  mentioned.^  At  night  we 
went  on  shore ;  the  snow  being  much  deeper  than  before,  we 
cleared  it  away  and  made  a  large  fire.  Here,  when  the  wound 
ed  Indian  cast  his  eyes  upon  me,  his  old  grudge  revived ;  he 
took  my  blanket  from  me  and  commanded  me  to  dance  round 
the  fire  barefoot,  and  sing  the  prisoner's  song,  which  I  utterly 
refused.  This  surprised  one  of  my  fellow-prisoners,  who  told 
me  they  would  put  me  to  death,  for  he  understood  what  they 
said.  He  therefore  tried  to  persuade  me  to  comply,  but  I  de 
sired  him  to  let  me  alone,  and  was  through  great  mercy  enabled 
to  reject  his  importunity  with  abhorrence.  This  Indian  also 
continued  urging,  saying,  you  shall  dance  and  sing ;  but  ap 
prehending  my  compliance  sinful,  I  determined  to  persist  in 
declining  it  at  all  adventures,  and  leave  the  issue  to  the  divine 
disposal.  The  Indian,  perceiving  his  orders  disobeyed,  was 
fired  with  indignation,  and  endeavored  to  push  me  into  the  fire, 
which  I  leaped  over,  and  he,  being  weak  with  his  wounds,  and 

*  The  author  probably  refers  to  the  time  he  was  taken. — Ed 


ROBERT   EASTBURN'S    CAPTIVITY.  271 

not  being  assisted  by  any  of  his  brethren,  was  obliged  to  desist. 
For  this  gracious  interposure  of  Providence,  in  preserving  me 
both  from  sin  and  danger,  I  desire  to  bless  God  while  I  live. 

Friday  morning  I  was  almost  perished  with  cold.  Saturday 
we  proceeded  on  our  way,  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Canada*  Here  I  was  in  great  hopea 
of  some  relief,  not  knowing  the  manner  of  the  Indians,  who 
do  not  make  many  stops  among  the  French  in  their  return 
from  war  till  they  get  home.  However,  when  they  came  neai 
some  rapid  falls  of  water,  one  of  my  fellow-prisoners  and  several 
Indians,  together  with  myself,  were  put  on  shore  to  travel  by 
land,  which  pleased  me  well ;  it  being  much  warmer  running 
on  the  snow  than  to  lie  still  in  the  batteau.  We  passed  by 
several  French  houses,  but  stopped  at  none ;  the  vessel  going 
down  a  rapid  stream,  it  required  haste  to  keep  pace  with  her, 
and  we  crossed  over  a  point  of  land  and  found  the  batteau 
waiting  for  us,  as  near  the  shore  as  the  ice  would  permit. 
Here  we  left  the  St.  Lawrence  and  turned  up  Conasadauga 
river,  but  it  being  frozen  up,  \ve  hauled  our  batteau  on  shore, 
and  each  of  us  took  our  share  of  her  loading  on  our  backs,  and 
marched  towards  Conasadauga,  an  Indian  town,  which  was 
our  designed  port,  but  could  not  reach  it  that  night.  We  came 
to  a  French  house,  cold,  weary,  and  hungry.  Here  my  old 
friend,  the  wounded  Indian,  again  appeared,  and  related  to  the 
Frenchman  the  affair  of  my  refusing  to  dance,  who  immedi 
ately  assisted  him  to  strip  me  of  my  flannel  vest,  which  was 
my  all.  Now  they  were  resolved  to  compel  me  to  dance  and 
sing.  The  Frenchman  was  as  violent  as  the  Indian  in  pro 
moting  this  imposition  ;  but  the  woman  belonging  to  the  house 
seeing  the  rough  usage  I  had,  took  pity  on  me  and  rescued  me 
out  of  their  hands,  till  their  heat  was  over,  and  prevailed  with 
the  Indian  to  excuse  me  from  dancing,  but  he  insisted  that  I 
must  be  shaved,  and  then  he  would  let  me  alone.  (I  had  at 
that  time  a  long  beard,  which  the  Indians  hate.)  With  this 
motion  I  readily  complied,  and  then  they  seemed  contented. 

Sunday,  April  llth,  we  set  off  towards  Conasadauga,  and 
travelled  about  two  hours,  when  we  saw  the  town  over  a  great 
river,  which  was  still  frozen.  The  Indians  stopped,  and  we 
were  soon  joined  with  a  number  of  our  own  company,  which 
we  had  not  seen  for  several  days.  The  prisoners,  in  number 
eight,  were  ordered  to  lay  down  their  packs,  and  be  painted. 
The  wounded  Indian  painted  me,  and  put  a  belt  of  wampum 
round  my  neck,  instead  of  the  rope  I  had  worn  four  hundred 
miles.  Then  we  set  off  for  the  town  on  the  ice,  which  was 
four  miles  over.  Our  heads  were  not  allowed  to  be  covered, 
lest  our  fine  paint  should  be  hid,  the  weather  in  the  mean  time 


272  ROBERT   EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY. 

very  cold,  like  to  freeze  our  ears.  After  we  had  advanced 
nearer  to  the  town,  the  Indian  women  came  out  to  meet  us,  an'd 
relieved  their  husbands  of  their  packs. 

As  soon  as  we  landed  at  Conasadauga  a  large  body  of  In 
dians  came  and  encompassed  us  round,  and  ordered  the  prison 
ers  to  dance  and  sing  the  prisoner's  song,  (which  I  was  still 
enabled  to  decline.)  At  the  conclusion  they  gave  a  shout,  and 
opened  the  ring  to  let  us  run,  and  then  fell  on  us  with  their 
fists,  and  knocked  several  down.  In  the  mean  time,  one  ran 
before  to  direct  us  to  an  Indian  house  which  was  open,  and  as 
soon  as  we  got  in  we  were  safe  from  beating.  My  head  was 
sore  with  bruises,  and  pained  me  several  days.  The  squaws 
were  kind  to  us,  gave  us  boiled  corn  and  beans  to  eat,  and  fire 
to  warm  us,  which  was  a  great  mercy,  for  I  was  both  cold  and 
hungry.  This  town  lies  about  thirty  miles  north-west  of  Mont 
real.  I  staid  here  till  the  ice  was  gone,  which  was  about  ten 
days,  and  then  was  sent  to  Cohnewago,  in  company  with  some 
Indians,  who,  when  they  came  within  hearing,  gave  notice  by 
their  way  of  shouting  that  they  had  a  prisoner,  on  which  the 
whole  town  rose  to  welcome  me,  which  was  the  more  distress 
ing  as  there  was  no  other  prisoner  in  their  hands.  When  we 
came  near  shore,  a  stout  Indian  took  hold  of  me,  and  hauled 
me  into  the  water,  which  was  knee  deep,  and  very  cold.  As 
soon  as  I  got  ashore  the  Indians  gathered  round  me,  ordered 
me  to  dance  and  sing,  although  I  was  stiff  with  cold  and  wet, 
and  lying  long  in  the  canoe.  I  only  stamped  to  prepare  for 
my  race,  and  was  encompassed  with  about  five  hundred  Indians, 
who  danced  and  sung,  and  at  last  gave  a  shout  and  opened  the 
circle.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  Indian  lads  made  ready 
to  pelt  me  with  dirt  and  gravel-stones,  and  on  my  starting  off 
gave  me  a  smart  volley,  but  from  which  I  did  not  suffer  much 
hurt.  An  Indian  seeing  me  running,  met  me,  seized  and  held 
me  fast,  till  the  boys  had  stored  themselves  again  with  small 
stones,  and  then  let  me  go.  Now  I  fared  much  worse  than 
before,  for  a  small  stone  among  the  mud  hit  my  right  eye,  and 
my  head  and  face  were  so  covered  with  the  dirt  that  I  could 
scarce  see  my  way  ;  but  discovering  the  door  of  an  Indian 
house  standing  open,  I  ran  in.  From  this  retreat  I  was  soon 
dragged  to  be  pelted  more,  but  the  Indian  women,  being  more 
merciful,  interposed,  took  me  into  a  house,  brought  me  water 
to  wash,  and  gave  me  boiled  corn  and  beans  to  eat.  The  next 
day  I  was  brought  to  the  centre  of  the  town  and  cried  accord 
ing  to  the  Indian  custom,  in  order  to  be  sent  to  a  family  of 
Indians  two  hundred  miles  up  stream,  at  Osvvegatchy,  and 
there  to  be  adopted  and  abused  no  more.  To  this  end  I  was 
delivered  to  three  young  men,  who  said  I  was  their  brother, 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY.  273 

and  set  forward  on  our  way  to  the  aforesaid  town,  with  about 
twenty  more,  but  by  reason  of  bad  weather  we  were  obliged 
to  encamp  on  a  cold,  stony  shore  three  days,  and  then  proceed 
ed  on.  We  called  at  Conasadauga,  staid  there  about  a  week, 
in  which  time  I  went  and  viewed  four  houses  at  a  distance 
from  the  town,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  each  other,  in 
which  are  represented  in  large  paintings  the  sufferings  of  our 
Savior,  designed  to  draw  the  Indians  to  the  papist's  religion. 
The  work  is  curiously  dona.  A  little  further  stand  three 
houses  near  together,  on  a  high  hill,  which  they  call  mount 
Calvary,  with  three  large  crosses  before  them,  which  completes 
the  whole  representation.  To  all  these  houses  the  papists  and 
Indians  repair,  in  performing  their  grand  processions,  which 
takes  up  much  time. 

The  pains  the  papists  take  to  propagate  such  a  bloody  reli 
gion  is  truly  surprising ;  and  the  zeal  they  employ  to  propagate 
superstition  and  idolatry  should  make  Protestants  ashamed  of 
their  lukewarmness.  A  priest  asked  me  "  if  I  was  a  Catho 
lic."  I  answered  him,  "no;"  to  which  he  replied,  "no  bon." 
When  I  told  a  fellow-captive  of  this,  he  said  by  my  answer 
the  priest  understood  that  I  was  not  a  Christian.  Shortly  after 
another  asked  me  the  same  question,  and  I  answered,  "  yes, 
but  not  a  Roman  Catholic ;"  but  he  too  said  "  no  bon  !  no 
bon  ! " 

We  next  set  off  on  our  journey  for  Oswegatchy,  against  a 
rapid  stream,  and  being  long  in  it,  and  our  provisions  growing 
short,  the  Indians  put  to  shore  a  little  before  night.  My  lot 
was  to  get  wood,  others  were  ordered  to  get  fires,  and  some  to 
hunt.  Our  kettle  was  put  over  the  fire  with  some  pounded 
Indian  corn,  and  after  it  had  boiled  about  two  hours  my  oldest 
Indian  brother  returned  with  a  she  beaver,  big  with  young, 
which  he  soon  cut  to  pieces  and  threw  into  the  kettle,  together 
with  the  guts,  and  took  the  four  young  beavers  whole  as  they 
were  found  in  embryo,  and  put  them  likewise  into  the  kettle, 
and  when  all  was  well  boiled,  gave  each  of  us  a  large  dish  full 
of  the  broth,  of  which  we  eat  freely,  and  then  part  of  the  old 
beaver  ;  the  tail  of  which  was  divided  equally  among  us,  there 
being  eight  at  our  fire.  The  four  young  beavers  were  cut  in 
the  middle,  and  each  of  us  got  half  a  beaver.  I  watched  for 
an  opportunity  to  hide  my  share,  (having  satisfied  myself  be 
fore  that  tender  dish  came  to  hand,)  which  if  they  had  seen 
would  have  much  displeased  them.1*  The  other  Indians  catch- 

*  The  reader  will  observe  here  a  parallel  custom  to  that  in  practice  a 
hundred  years  before  among  the  Indians  who  carried  off'  Stock  well.    They 
compelled  him  to  diink  raccoon  fat  because  he  wished  to  save  some  of  the 
flesh  of  one  for  another  time.     See  Stockwell's  Narrative. — Ed. 
18 


274  ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY. 

ed  young  muskrats,  thrust  a  stick  through  their  hodies,  and 
roasted  it  without  skinning  or  dressing,  and  so  eat  them.  Next 
morning  we  hastened  on  our  journey,  which  continued  several 
days,  till  we  came  near  Oswegatchy,  where  we  landed  about 
three  miles  from  the  town  on  the  contrary  side  of  the  river. 
Here  I  was  to  be  adopted.  My  father  and  mother,  whom  I 
had  never  seen  before,  were  waiting,  and  ordered  me  into  an 
Indian  house,  where  we  were  directed  to  sit  down  silent  for  a 
considerable  time.  The  Indians  appeared  very  sad,  and  my 
mother  began  to  cry,  and  continued  to  cry  aloud  for  some  time, 
and  then  dried  up  her  tears  and  received  me  for  her  son,  and 
took  me  over  the  river  to  the  Indian  town.  The  next  day  I 
was  ordered  to  go  to  mass  with  them,  but  I  refused  once  and 
again;  yet  they  continued  their  importunities  several  days. 
Seeing  they  could  not  prevail  with  me,  they  seemed  much  dis 
pleased  with  their  new  son.  I  was  then  sent  over  the  river  to 
be  employed  in  hard  labor,  as  a  punishment  for  not  going  to 
mass,  and  not  allowed  a  sight  of  or  any  conversation  with  my 
fellow-prisoners.  The  old  Indian  man  with  whom  I  was 
ordered  to  work  had  a  wife  and  children.  He  took  me 
into  the  woods  with  him,  and  made  signs  for  me  to  chop,  and 
he  soon  saw  that  I  could  handle  the  axe.  Here  I  tried  to  rec 
oncile  myself  to  this  employ,  that  they  might  have  no  occasion 
against  me,  except  concerning  the  Jaw  of  my  God.  The  old 
man  began  to  appear  kind,  and  his  wife  gave  me  milk  and 
bread  when  we  came  home,  and  when  she  got  fish,  gave  me 
the  gills  to  eat,  out  of  real  kindness ;  but  perceiving  I  did  not 
like  them,  gave  me  my  own  choice,  and  behaved  lovingly. 
When  we  had  finished  our  fence,  which  had  employed  us  about 
a  week,  I  showed  the  old  squaw  my  shirt,  (having  worn  it  from 
the  time  I  was  first  taken  prisoner,  which  was  about  seven 
weeks,)  all  in  rags,  dirt  and  lice.  She  said  it  was  not  good, 
and  brought  me  a  new  one  with  ruffled  sleeves,  saying  "  that 
is  good,"  which  I  thankfully  accepted.  The  next  day  they 
carried  me  back  to  the  Indian  town,  and  permitted  me  to  con 
verse  with  my  fellow-prisoners.  They  told  me  we  were  all  to 
be  sent  to  Montreal,  which  accordingly  came  to  pass. 

On  our  arrival  at  Montreal  we  had  our  lodgings  first  in  the 
Jesuits'  convent,  where  I  saw  a  great  number  of  priests  and 
people  who  came  to  confession.  After  some  stay  we  were 
ordered  to  attend  with  the  Indians  in  a  grand  council,  held 
before  the  head  general,  Vaudreuil.  We  prisoners  sat  in  our 
rank,  (surrounded  with  our  fathers  and  brethren,)  but  were 
asked  no  questions.  The  general  had  a  number  of  officers  to 
attend  him  in  council,  where  a  noted  priest,  called  Picket,  sat 
at  his  right  hand,  who  understands  the  Indian  tongue  well- 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY.  275 

and  does  more  hurt  to  the  English  than  any  other  of  his  order 
in  Canada.  His  dwelling  is  at  Osvvegatchy.  Here  I  was  in 
formed  that  some  measures  were  concerted  to  destroy  Oswego, 
which  had  been  long  in  agitation.  We  met  on  our  journey 
many  batteaux  going  up  stream,  with  provision  and  men  for  an 
attack  on  our  frontiers,  which  confirmed  the  report.  The 
council  adjourned  to  another  day,  and  then  broke  up.  My 
Indian  father  and  mother  took  me  with  them  to  several  of  their 
old  acquaintances,  who  were  French,  to  show  them  their  lately 
adopted  son.  These  persons  had  been  concerned  with  my 
father  and  other  Indians  in  destroying  many  English  families 
in  their  younger  days,  and,  (as  one  standing  by  who  under 
stood  their  language  said,)  were  boasting  of  their  former  mur 
ders  !  After  some  days  the  council  was  again  called,  before 
which  several  of  the  Oneida  chiefs  appeared  and  offered  some 
complaints  against  the  French's  attacking  our  carrying  place, 
it  being  their  land.  But  the  general  labored  to  make  them 
easy,  and  gave  them  sundry  presents  of  value,  which  they 
accepted.  The  French  are  exceedingly  careful  to  prevent 
spirituous  liquors  being  sold  among  the  Indians,  and  if  any 
inhabitant  is  proved  guilty  of  it,  their  temporal  interest  is  quite 
broken,  and  corporal  punishment  is  inflicted  on  such  offenders. 
Herein  the  French  are  vastly  superior  to  us.  The  Indians  do 
not  fear  our  numbers,  (which  they  deride,)  because  of  our  un 
happy  divisions,  in  consequence  of  which  they  expect  to  con 
quer  us  entirely. 

Knowing  these  Oneidas  were  acquainted  with  Capt.  Wil 
liams,  at  the  carrying  place,  I  sent  a  letter  by  them  to  let  my 
family  and  friends  know  that  I  was  yet  alive,  and  lodged  for 
redemption ;  but  it  never  came  to  hand.  The  treaty  being 
ended,  the  general  sent  about  ten  gallons  of  red  wine  to  the 
Indians,  which  they  divided  among  us.  Afterwards  came  the 
presents,  consisting  of  coats,  blankets,  shirts,  skins,  (to  make 
Indian  shoes,)  cloth,  (for  stockings,)  powder,  lead-shot,  and  to 
each  a  bag  of  paint  for  their  own  use,  &c. 

After  we  prisoners  had  our  share  my  mother  came  to  me 
with  an  interpreter,  and  told  me  I  might  stay  in  the  town  at  a 
place  she  had  found  for  me,  if  I  pleased.  This  proposal  I 
almost  agreed  to,  but  one  of  my  fellow-prisoners,  with  whom  I 
had  had  before  some  discourse  about  making  our  escape,  op 
posed  the  motion,  and  said,  "  Pray  do  not  stay,  for,  if  you  do, 
we  shall  not  be  able  to  form  a  plan  for  our  deliverance."  So 
I  told  her  I  chose  to  go  home  with  her,  and  soon  set  off  by 
land,  in  our  way  thither,  to  Laschene,  distant  from  Montreal 
about  nine  miles.  Here  we  left  our  canoes,  and  proceeded 
without  delay  on  our  journey,  in  which  I  saw,  to  my  sorrow, 


276  ROBERT  EASTBURN'S   CAPTIVITY. 

great  numbers  of  soldiers  and  much  provisions  in  motion 
towards  lake  Ontario.  After  a  painful  and  distressing  jour 
ney,  we  arrived  at  Oswegatchy,  where  we  likewise  saw  many 
batteaux,  with  provisions  and  soldiers,  daily  passing  by  in  their 
way  to  Frontenac,  which  greatly  distressed  me  for  Oswego. 
Hence  I  resolved,  if  possible,  to  give  our  people  notice  of  their 
danger.  To  this  end,  I  told  two  of  my  fellow-prisoners  tha 
it  was  not  a  time  to  sleep,  and  asked  them  if  they  would  go 
with  me,  to  which  they  heartily  agreed.  But  we  had  no  pro 
vision,  and  were  closely  eyed  by  the  enemy,  so  that  we  could  not 
lay  up  a  stock  out  of  our  allowance.  However,  at  this  time, 
Mr.  Picket  had  concluded  to  dig  a  large  trench  round  the 
town.  I  therefore  went  to  a  negro,  the  principal  manager  of 
this  work,  (who  could  speak  English,  French,  and  Indian 
well,)  and  asked  him  if  he  could  get  employ  for  two  others 
and  myself,  which  he  soon  did.  For  this  service  we  were 
to  have  meat,  [board,]  and  wages.  Here  we  had  a  prospect 
of  procuring  provision  for  our  flight.  This,  after  some  time,  I 
obtained  for  myself,  and  then  asked  my  brethren  if  they  were 
ready.  They  said  "  they  were  not  yet,  but  that  Ann  Bow 
man  (our  fellow-prisoner)  had  brought  one  hundred  and  thirty 
dollars  from  Bull's  fort,  [when  it  was  destroyed,  as  has  been 
related,]  and  would  give  them  all  they  needed."  I  told  them 
it  was  not  safe  to  disclose  such  a  secret  to  her,  but  they  blamed 
me  for  entertaining  such  fears,  and  applied  to  her  for  provi 
sions,  letting  her  know  our  intention.  She  immediately  in 
formed  the  priest  of  it !  We  were  forthwith  apprehended,  the 
Indians  informed  of  it,  and  a  court  called.  Four  of  us  were 
ordered  by  this  court  to  be  confined  in  a  room,  under  a  strong 
guard,  within  the  fort,  for  several  days.  From  hence,  another 
and  myself  were  sent  to  Cohnewago,  under  a  strong  guard  of 
sixty  Indians,  to  prevent  my  plotting  any  more  against  the 
French,  and  to  banish  all  hope  of  my  escape  ! 

When  we  arrived  at  this  place,  it  pleased  God  to  incline  the 
captain  of  the  guard  to  show  me  great  kindness  in  giving  me 
liberty  to  walk  or  work  where  I  pleased,  within  any  small  dis 
tance.  I  went  to  work  with  a  French  smith  for  six  livres  and 
five  sous  per  week.  This  sum  the  captain  let  me  have  to  my 
self,  and  further  favored  me  with  the  privilege  of  lodging  at 
his  mother's  house,  (an  English  woman  named  Mary  Harris, 
taken  captive  when  a  child  from  Deerfield,  in  New  England,) 
who  told  me  she  was  my  grandmother,  and  was  kind ;  but 
the  wages  being  small,  and  not  sufficient  to  procure  such  cloth 
ing  as  I  was  in  want  of,  I  proceeded  no  farther  with  the  smith, 
but  went  to  my  uncle  Peter,  and  told  him  I  wanted  clothes, 
and  that  it  would  be  better  to  let  me  go  to  Montreal,  and  work 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY.  277 

there,  where  I  could  clothe  myself  better  than  by  staying  with 
him.  He  after  some  reasoning  consented. 

I  set  off  on  my  journey  to  Montreal,  and  on  my  entering  the 
city  met  an  English  smith,  who  took  me  to  work  with  him. 
After  some  time  we  settled  to  work  in  a  shop  opposite  the 
general's  door,  where  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  great 
part  of  the  forces  of  Canada,  both  French  and  Indians,  who 
were  commonly  brought  there  before  their  going  out  to  war, 
and  likewise  all  prisoners.  By  this  means  we  got  intelligence 
how  our  people  were  preparing  for  defence ;  but  no  good  news 
from  Oswego,  which  made  me  fear,  knowing  that  great  num 
bers  of  French  had  gone  out  against  it,  and  hearing  there  were 
but  few  to  defend  it. 

Prayers  were  put  up  in  all  the  churches  of  Canada,  and 
great  processions  made,  in  order  to  procure  success  to  their 
arms  against  poor  Oswego ;  but  our  people  knew  little  of  their 
danger  till  it  was  too  late.  For,  to  my  surprise,  the  dismal 
news  came  that  the  French  had  taken  one  of  the  Oswego  forts. 
In  a  few  hours,  in  confirmation  of  this  news,  I  saw  the  Eng 
lish  standards,  the  melancholy  trophies  of  victory,  and  the 
French  rejoicing  at  our  downfall,  and  mocking  us,  poor  pri 
soners,  in  our  exile  and  extremity,  which  was  no  great  argu 
ment  either  of  humanity  or  true  greatness  of  mind.  Great 
joy  appeared  in  all  their  faces,  which  they  expressed  in  loud 
shouts,  firing  of  cannon,  and  returning  thanks  in  their  churches. 
But  our  faces  were  covered  with  shame,  and  our  hearts  filled 
with  grief  !* 

Soon  after,  I  saw  several  of  the  officers  brought  in  prisoners 
in  small  parties,  and  soldiers  in  the  same  manner,  who  were 
confined  within  the  wallj  [of  the  fort]  in  a  starving  condition, 
in  order  to  make  them  work,  which  some  complied  with,  while 
others  bravely  refused ;  and  last  of  all  came  the  tradesmen, 
among  whom  was  my  son,  who,  looking  round,  saw  me,  to  his 
great  surprise,  for  he  had  supposed  I  was  dead.  This  joyful 
sight  so  affected  him  that  he  wept ;  nor  could  I  refrain  from 
the  express'  n  of  a  father's  tenderness,  in  the  same  kind,  upon 
so  extraordinary  an  occasion ;  it  was  far  more  than  I  can  dis 
close  in  writing,  and  therefore  must  cover  it  with  a  veil  of 
silence.  But  he,  with  all  my  Philadelphia  friends,  being 
guarded  by  soldiers,  with  fixed  bayonets,  we  could  not  come 
near  each  other.  They  were  sent  to  the  common  pound,  but 
I  hastened  to  the  interpreter  to  try  to/ get  my  son  set  at  liberty, 
which  was  soon  effected.  When  we  had  the  happiness  of  an 
interview,  he  gave  me  some  information  of  the  state  of  our 

*  Oswego  was  taken  July  15th,  1756,  and  1400  English  were  made 
prisoners. — Ed. 

24 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY. 

family,  and  told  me  that,  as  soon  as  the  news  reached  home 
that  1  was  killed  or  taken,  his  mother  was  not  allowed  any 
further  wages  of  mine,  which  grieved  me  much,  and  added  to 
my  other  afflictions. 

In  the  mean  time  it  gave  me  some  pleasure  in  this  situation 
to  see  an  expression  of  equal  affection  and  prudence  in  my 
son's  conduct,  who,  though  young  in  years,  (about  seventeen,) 
that  he,  in  such  a  confused  state  of  things,  had  taken  care  to 
bring,  with  much  labor  and  fatigue,  a  large  bundle,  of  consi 
derable  value  to  me,  of  clothing,  &c.,  of  which  I  was  in  great 
need.  He  likewise  saved  a  quantity  of  wampum  which  we 
brought  from  New  York,  and  afterwards  sold  it  here  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  livres.  He  travelled  with  me  part  of  the 
journey  towards  Oswego,  but  not  being  so  far  on  his  way  as 
I  was  when  taken,  did  not  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands  until 
that  place  was  taken.  At  that  time  he  was  delivered  in  a 
remarkable  manner  from  a  wretched  captivity  among  distant 
Indians.  His  escape  was  in  this  manner  :  fifteen  young  white 
prisoners  were  selected  out  to  be  delivered  into  their  power, 
who,  from  a  well-known  custom  among  the  Indians,  there  was 
no  doubt,  were  to  supply  the  places  of  those  they  had  lost  in 
the  war.  Of  this  number  was  my  son.  The  French  artfully 
concealed  their  destination,  and  pretended  they  were  designed 
to  labor  in  the  batteaux.  My  son,  seeing  that  most  of  the 
selection  were  small  lads,  doubted  their  pretensions,  for  they 
were  not  equal  to  such  performance.  Watching  his  opportu 
nity,  he  slipped  from  his  place  in  the  ranks  unnoticed,  and  lay 
concealed  until  his  place  was  filled  by  another.  The  other 
unhappy  youths  were  delivered  up  a  sacrifice  to  the  Indian 
enemy,  to  be  instructed  in  popish  principles,  and  be  employed 
in  murdering  their  countrymen,  yea,  perhaps,  their  own  fa 
thers,  mothers,  and  brethren  !  O  horrible  !  O  lamentable  ! 

The  insatiable  thirst  of  the  French  for  empire^  is  height 
ened,  doubtless,  from  the  pardons  they  receive  from  the  pope 
and  their  priests,  [as  will  appear  from  the  following  facts :] 
On  a  Sabbath  day  I  went  to  see  what  was  the  occasion  of  a 
great  concourse  of  people  at  a  chapel.  I  found  a  kind  of  fair, 
at  which  were  sold  cakes,  wine,  brandy,  &c.  Numbers  of 
people  were  going  in  and  out  of  the  chapel,  over  the  door  of 
which  was  a  board  hanging,  and  on  it  was  written,  in  large 
capital  letters,  "  Indulgence  plenary,  or  full  pardon."  To  return 
to  my  narrative. 

*  The  author  wished  probably  to  convey  the  idea  that  the  French  mighl 
commit  any  crimes  in  the  acquisition  of  empire,  without  fear  of  futuri 
punishment,  so  long  as  they  availed  themselves  of  absolution,  which  ii 
appears,  from  his  next  paragraph,  was  very  prominently  held  forth.— Ed. 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY.  279 

When  the  people  taken  at  Oswego  were  setting  out  on  their 
way  to  Quebec,  1  made  application  for  liberty  to  go  with  them, 
but  the  interpreter  said  1  was  an  Indian  prisoner,  and  the 
general  would  not  suffer  it  till  the  Indians  were  satisfied  ;  and 
as  they  lived  two  hundred  miles  from  Montreal,  it  could  not 
be  done  at  that  time.  Finding  that  all  arguments  on  that 
head  would  not  avail,  because  I  was  not  included  in  the  capitu 
lation,  I  told  the  interpreter  my  son  must  go  and  leave  me, 
to  be  ready  at  Quebec  to  go  home  when  the  Oswego  people 
went,  which  probably  would  be  soon.  He  replied,  •'  It  would 
be  better  to  keep  him  with  me,  for  it  might  be  a  mean  to  get 
me  clear  much  sooner." 

The  officers  belonging  to  Oswego  would  gladly  have  had 
me  with  them,  but  found  it  impracticable.  This  was  an  in 
stance  of  kindness  and  condescension  for  which  I  was  greatly 
obliged.  Capt.  Bradley  gave  me  a  good  coat,  vest,  and  shirt, 
and  a  young  gentleman,  who  formerly  lived  in  Philadelphia, 
(by  name  James  Stone,  doctor  at  Oswego,)  gave  me  four  pis 
toles.  These  expressions  of  kindness  I  remember  with  grati 
tude,  and,  if  ever  in  my  power,  will  requite.  This  money, 
with  what  my  son  brought  me,  I  was  in  hopes  would  go  far 
towards  procuring  my  release  from  my  Indian  masters.  But 
seeing  a  number  of  prisoners  in  sore  distress,  among  whom 
were  Capt.  Grant  arid  Capt.  Shepherd,  and  about  seven  more 
in  company,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  relieve  them,  and  commit 
my  release  to  the  disposal  of  Providence,  nor  was  this  suffered 
to  turn  to  my  disadvantage  in  the  issue,  for  my  deliverance 
was  brought  about  in  due  time,  in  another  and  unexpected. 
way.  This  company  informed  me  of  their  intention  to  escape  ;. 
accordingly  I  gave  them  all  the  help  in  my  power,  saw  them 
clear  of  the  town  on  a  Saturday  evening,  before  the  sentries 
were  set  at  the  gates,  and  advised  them  not  to  part  from  each 
other,  and  delivered  to  Capt.  Shepherd  two  pocket  compasses  ; 
but,  contrary  to  this  counsel,  they  parted,  and  saw  each  other 
no  more.  By  their  separating,  Captain  Grant  and  Sergeant 
Newel  were  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  a  compass  ;  the  others  got 
safe  to  fort  William  Henry,  as  I  was  informed  by  Sergeant  Hen 
ry,  who  was  brought  in  prisoner,  being  taken  in  a  battle,  when 
the  gallant  and  indefatigable  Capt.  Rogers  made  a  brave  stand 
against  more  than  twice  his  number.*  But  I  have  not  heard 

*  About  the  21st  of  May,  1756,  Capt.  Rogers,  with  only  eleven  men,  am 
bushed  the  carrying  place  between  lakes  George  and  Champlain,  fired  on 
a  party  of  twenty-two  Frenchmen,  and  killed  six.  He  had  let  another 
party  of  118  men  pass  only  "a  few  minutes  before,"  who  immediately 
returned  and  rescued  the  others,  and  obliged  the  English  to  fly.  Rogers 
says  nothing  about  having  any  of  his  men  taken,  but  took  one  himself. — 
Rogers'  Journal. — Ed. 


33 


280  ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY. 

any  account  of  Capt.  Grant.  I  was  enabled,  through  much 
mercy,  to  continue  communicating  relief  to  other  prisoners  out 
of  the  wages  I  received  for  my  labors,  which  was  forty  livres 
per  month. 

In  the  latter  part  of  winter,  coal  and  iron  were  so  scarce 
that  it  was  difficult  to  get  work.  I  then  offered  to  work  for 
my  board,  rather  than  to  be  thrust  into  a  stinking  dungeon,  or 
sent  among  the  Indians.  The  interpreter  took  some  pains, 
which  I  thankfully  acknowledge,  without  success,  in  my  behalf. 
However,  as  I  offered  to  work  without  wages,  a  Frenchman 
took  me  and  my  son  in  upon  these  terms.  Here  we  staid  one 
week,  and  hearing  of  no  other  chance,  our  employer  offered  us 
thirty  livres  a  month  to  blow  the  bellows  and  strike,  which  I 
did  for  about  two  months,  and  then  was  discharged,  and 
travelled  about,  from  place  to  place,  having  no  fixed  abode. 
In  this  dilemma  I  was  obliged  to  spend  my  little  earnings  for 
food  to  live  upon,  and  my  lodging  was  the  hay-loft.  I  then 
made  my  case  known  to  the  kind  interpreter,  and  requested 
him  to  consider  of  some  means  for  my  relief.  He  said  he 
would. 

Meanwhile,  as  I  was  taking  a  walk  in  the  city,  I  met  an 
Indian  prisoner  [a  prisoner  among  them]  that  belonged  to  the 
town  where  my  father  lived.  He  reported  that  a  great  part  of 
the  Indians  there  had  just  arrived  with  the  resolution  to  carry 
me  back  with  them ;  and  knowing  him  to  be  a  very  honest 
fellow,  I  believed  him,  and  fled  from  the  town,  and  concealed 
myself  from  the  Indians.  Schemes  were  now  formed  for  an 
escape,  and  well  prosecuted  to  a  fortunate  issue.  General 
Vaudreuil  gave  me  and  my  son  liberty  (under  his  hand)  to  go 
to  Quebec,  and  to  work  there  at  our  pleasure,  without  confine 
ment,  as  prisoners  of  war.  By  this  means  I  was  freed  from 
paying  a  ransom. 

The  commissary,  Monsieur  Portwee,  [?]  being  about  to  set 

off  for  Quebec,  my  son  informed  me  I  must  come  to  town  in 

the  evening,  a  passage  being  provided  for  us.     I  waited  till  near 

dark,  and  then  entered  the  town  with  great  caution,  to  escape 

the  Indians,  who  kept  watch  for  me,  and  had  done  so  for  some 

time,  which  made  it  very  difficult  and  dangerous  to  move;  but 

as  they  had  no  knowledge  of  my  son,  he  could  watch  their 

motions  without  suspicion.     In  the  morning,  upon  seeing  an 

Indian  set  to  watch  for  me  over  agains-t  the  house  I  was  in,  I 

quickly  made  my  escape  through  the  back  part  of  the  house, 

.  over  some  high  pickets,  and  so  out  of  the  city  to  the  river-side, 

-and  fled.     A   friend,  knowing  my   scheme    for   deliverance, 

kindly  assisted  me  to  conceal  myself.     The  commissary  had 

•  now  got  ready  for  his  voyage,  of  which  my  son  gave  me  no- 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY.  281 

tice.  With  no  lingering  motion  I  repaired  to  the  boat,  was 
received  on  board,  got  off  undiscovered,  and  saw  the  Indians 
no  more  !  A  very  narrow  and  surprising  escape  from  a  violent 
death!  for  they  had  determined  to  kill  me  if  ever  I  attempted 
to  leave  them. 

I  arrived  at  Quebec  May  1st.  The  honorable  Col.  Peter 
Schuyler,  hearing  of  my  coming  there,  kindly  sent  for  me,  and 
after  inquiries  about  my  welfare  generously  told  me  I  should 
be  supplied,  and  need  not  trouble  myself  for  support.  This 
public-spirited  gentleman,  who  is  indeed  an  honor  to  his  coun 
try,  did  in  like  manner  nobly  relieve  many  other  poor  prisoners 
at  Quebec.  Here  I  had  full  liberty  to  walk  where  I  pleased 
to  view  the  city,  which  is  well  situated  for  strength,  but  far 
from  being  impregnable. 

Here,  I  hope,  it  will  not  be  judged  improper  to  give  a  short 
hint  of  the  French  governor's  conduct.  Even  in  time  of  peace 
he  gives  the  Indians  great  encouragement  to  murder  and  cap 
tivate  the  poor  inhabitants  on  our  frontiers.*  An  honest  good 
man,  named  William  Ross,  was  taken  prisoner  twice  in  time 
of  peace.  When  he  was  first  taken  he  learned  a  little  of  the 
French  language,  was  afterwards  redeemed,  and  got  to  his 
place  of  abode.  Some  years  after,  he,  with  two  sons,  was  again 
taken,  and  brought  to  Quebec.  The  governor  seeing  the  poor 
man  was  lame,  and  that  one  of  his  legs  was  smaller  than  the 
other,  reproved  the  Indians  for  not  killing  him,  asking  them 
"  what  they  brought  a  lame  man  there  for  who  could  do 
nothing  but  eat !  You  should  have  brought  his  scalp !" 
However,  another  of  his  countrymen,  more  merciful  than  his 
excellency,  knowing  the  poor  prisoner  to  be  a  quiet,  hard 
working  man,  redeemed  him  from  the  Indians,  and  two  other 
Frenchmen  bought  his  two  sons.  Here  they  had  been  slaves 
more  than  three  years  when  I  first  arrived  at  Quebec.  This 
account  I  had  from  Mr.  Ross  himself,  who  further  added,  that 
the  governor  gave  the  Indians  presents  to  encourage  them 'to 
proceed  in  that  kind  of  work,  which  is  a  scandal  to  any  civil 
ized  nation,  and  what  many  pagans  would  abhor.  Here,  also, 
I  saw  one  Mr.  Johnson,  who  was  taken  in  a  time  of  peace, 
with  his  wife  and  three  small  children.  A  fourth  was  boiu  on 
the  way,  whom  Mrs.  Johnson  named  Captive.t  All  of  these 
had  been  prisoners  between  three  and  four  years.  Several 

*  The  author  certainly  discovers  great  care  for  veracity  in  the  course 
of  his  narrative,  but  he  may  have  erred  here.  We  hope  he  has.— Ed. 

f  On  Mrs.  Johnson's  return  out  of  captivity  she  had  published  a  very 
full  and  excellent  account  of  it,  which  has  gone  through  at  least  four 
editions  since  1796.    The  last  (Lowell,  1834)  is  quite  imperfect.— Ed. 
24* 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S   CAPTIVITY. 

young  men,  and  Mr.  Johnson's  wife's  sister,  were  likewise 
taken  with  them,  and  made  slaves. 

Our  cartel  being  ready,  I  obtained  liberty  to  go  to  England 
in  her.  We  set  sail  the  23d  of  July,  1757,  in  the  morning, 
and  discharged  our  pilot  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
After  that  we  neither  cast  anchor  nor  lead  till  we  got  clear  of 
the  great  river  St.  Lawrence  ;  from  which  I  conclude  the  navi 
gation  to  be  much  safer  than  the  French  have  reported.  In 
28  days  we  arrived  at  Plymouth,  which  occasioned  great  joy 
[to  us],  for  we  were  ragged,  lousy,  sick,  and  in  a  manner 
starved ;  and  many  of  the  prisoners,  (who  were  in  all  about 
three  hundred,)  were  sick  of  the  smal]-pox.  Myself  and  son 
having  each  a  blanket  coat,  (which  we  bought  in  Canada  to 
keep  us  warm,)  and  now  expecting  relief,  gave  them  to  poor 
sick  men,  almost  naked.  We  were  not  allowed  to  go  on 
shore,  but  were  removed  to  a  king's  ship,  and  sent  to  Ports 
mouth,  where  we  were  still  confined  on  board  near  two  weeks, 
and  then  removed  to  the  Mermaid,  to  be  sent  to  Boston.  We 
now  repented  our  well-meant  though  rash  charity  in  giving 
our  coats  away,  as  we  were  not  to  get  any  more  ;  all  applica 
tions  to  the  captain  for  any  kind  of  covering  being  in  vain. 
Our  joy  was  turned  into  sorrow  at  the  prospect  of  coming  on  a 
cold  coast,  in  the  beginning  of  winter,  almost  naked,  which  was 
not  a  little  increased  by  a  near  view  of  our  mother  country ; 
the  soil  and  comforts  of  which  we  were  not  suffered  to  touch 
or  taste. * 

September  the  6th  we  sailed  for  Boston,  with  a  fleet  in  con 
voy,  at  which  we  arrived  on  the  7th  of  November,  in  the 
evening.  It  being  dark,  and  we  strangers  and  poor,  it  was  dif 
ficult  to  get  a  lodging.  I  had  no  shoes,  and  but  pieces  of 
stockings,  and  the  weather  very  cold.  We  were  indeed 
directed  to  a  tavern,  but  found  cold  entertainment  there  ;  the 
master  of  the  house,  seeing  a  ragged  and  lousy  company, 
turned  us  out  to  wander  in  the  dark.  He  was  suspicious  of 
us,  and  feared  we  came  from  Halifax,  where  the  small-pox 
then  was,  and  told  us  he  was  ordered  not  to  receive  such  as 
came  from  thence.  We  soon  met  a  young  man  who  said  he 
could  find  lodgings  for  us,  but  still  detained  us  by  asking 
many  questions.  I  told  him  we  were  in  no  condition  to 
answer  them  till  we  came  to  a  more  comfortable  place,  which 

*  Such  barbarous  treatment  of  poor  prisoners,  by  a  government  like 
that  of  England,  who  had  hazarded  their  lives  in  its  cause,  is  almost 
incredible.  Thus  brutes  might  treat  men,  but  men  will  not  deal  so  with 
men.  A  miserable  old  cartel  hulk  may  contain  germs  destined  to  shake 
the  thrones  of  tyrants. — Ed. 


ROBERT  EASTBURN'S  CAPTIVITY. 

he  quickly  found,  where  we  were  used  well ;  but  as  we  were 
lousy,  we  could  not  expect  beds. 

The  next  morning  we  made  application  for  clothing.  Mr 
Erving,  son-in-law  to  the  late  General  Shirley,  gave  us  relief, 
not  only  in  respect  of  apparel,  but  also  three  dollars  per  man, 
to  bear  our  charges  to  Newport.  When  I  put  on  fresh  clothes 
I  was  seized  with  a  cold  lit,  which  was  followed  by  a  high 
fever,  and  in  that  condition  obliged  to  travel  on  foot  as  far  as 
Providence,  in  our  way  to  Rhode  Island.  In  this  journey  I 
was  exceedingly  distressed.  Our  comforts  in  this  life  are  often 
embittered  with  miseries,  which  are  doubtless  great  mercies 
when  they  are  suitably  improved.  At  Newport  we  met  with 
Captain  Gibbs,  and  agreed  with  him  for  our  passage  to  New 
York,  where  we  arrived,  November  21st,  and  met  with  many 
friends,  who  expressed  much  satisfaction  at  our  return,  and 
treated  us  kindly,  particularly  Mr.  Livingston  and  Mr.  Wal- 
dron. 

November  the  26th,  1757,  I  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  to  the 
great  joy  of  all  my  friends,  and  particularly  of  my  poor  afflicted 
wife  and  family,  who  thought  they  should  never  see  me  again, 
till  we  met  beyond  the  grave.  Being  returned,  sick  and  weak 
in  body,  and  empty-handed,  not  having  any  thing  for  my  fam 
ily's  and  my  own  support,  several  humane  and  generous  per 
sons,  of  different  denominations,  in  this  city,  without  any  appli 
cation  of  mine,  have  freely  given  seasonable  relief.  For 
which  may  God  grant  them  blessings  in  this  world,  and  in  the 
world  to  come  everlasting  life,  for  Christ's  sake  ! 

But  to  hasten  to  the  conclusion,  suffer  me  with  humility 
and  sorrow  to  observe  that  our  enemies  seem  to  make  a  better 
use  of  a  bad  religion  than  we  do  of  a  good  one.  They  rise 
up  long  before  day  in  winter  and  go  through  the  snow  in 
the  coldest  seasons  to  perform  their  devotions  in  the  churches. 
When  these  are  over  they  return,  to  be  ready  for  their  work 
as  soon  as  daylight  appears.  The  Indians  are  as  zealous  in 
religion  as  the  French.  They  oblige  their  children  to  pray 
morning  and  evening,  particularly  at  Canasadauga. 

Our  case  appears  to  me  indeed  gloomy,  notwithstanding  our 
enemies  are  inconsiderable  in  numbers,  compared  with  us ;  yet 
they  are  united  as  one  man,  while  we  may  justly  be  compared 
to  a  house  divided  against  itself,  and  therefore  cannot  stand 
long  in  our  present  situation.  May  Almighty  God  graciously 
incline  us  to  look  to  him  for  deliverance,  to  repent  of  our  sins, 
reform  our  lives,  and  unite  in  the  vigorous  and  manly  use  of 
all  proper  means  to  this  end.  AMEN. 


NARRATIVE 

OP  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  GREEN - 
BRIER,  VIRGINIA,  TOGETHER  WITH  THE  CAPTURE  AND 
SURPRISING  CONDUCT  OF  MRS.  CLENDENIN,  WHO  WAS 
AMONG  THOSE  WHO  ESCAPED  THE  TOMAHAWK  OF  THE 
INDIANS  AT  THAT  MASSACRE. 


[Whether  the  following  narrative  was  ever  in  print,  except  as  it  stands 
m  Mr.  Martin's  Gazetteer  of  Virginia,  I  have  never  learned.  It  would  seem 
from  the  following  note  accompanying  it  in  that  work,  "that  it  was 
extracted  from  memoirs  of  Indian  wars  on  the  western  frontiers  of  Vir 
ginia,  communicated  to  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Virginia,  by  Charles 
A.  Stuart,  Esq.,  of  Augusta  Co."— Ed.] 


AFTER  peace  was  confirmed  between  England  and  France  in 
the  year  1761,  the  Indians  commenced  hostilities  in  1763,* 
when  all  the  inhabitants  in  Greenbrier  were  totally  cut  off  by 
a  party  of  Indians,  headed  by  the  chief  warrior  Cornstalk.t 
The  principal  settlements  were  on  Muddy  Creek.  These 
Indians,  in  number  about  sixty,  introduced  themselves  into  the 
people's  houses  under  the  mask  of  friendship,  where  every 
civility  was  offered  them  by  the  people,  providing  them  with 

*  Hostilities  had  not  ceased  between  the  whites  and  the  Indians,  as  will 
be  seen  by  a  reference  to  the  CHRONICLES  OF  THE  INDIANS  ior  this  and  the 
preceding  years. — Ed. 

f  The  life  and  barbarous  death  of  this  great  chief  are  given  at  length 
in  the  BOOK  OF  THE  INDIANS,  v.  42,  44.— Ed. 


MRS.  CLENDENIN'S  CAPTIVITY.  285 

victuals  and  other  accommodations  for  their  entertainment, 
when,  on  a  sudden,  they  fall  upon  and  kill  the  men,  and  make 
prisoners  of  the  women  and  children.  From  thence  they 
passed  over  into  the  Levels,  where  some  families  were  collected 
at  the  house  of  Archibald  Clendenin,  where  the  Honorable 
Balard  Smith  now  lives.  There  were  between  fifty  and  one 
hundred  persons,  men,  women  and  children.  There  the 
Indians  were  entertained,  as  at  Muddy  Creek,  in  the  most  hos 
pitable  manner.  Mr.  Clendenin  had  just  arrived  from  a  hunt, 
with  three  fat  elks,  upon  which  they  were  feasted  in  a  boun 
tiful  manner. 

In  the  mean  time  an  old  woman,  with  a  sore  leg,  was  show 
ing  her  distress  to  an  Indian,  and  inquiring  if  he  could  admin 
ister  to  her  any  relief.  He  said  he  thought  he  could,  and 
drawing  his  tomahawk,  instantly  killed  her,  and  all  the  men, 
almost,  that  were  in  the  house.  One,  named  Conrad  Yolkom, 
only  escaped.  He,  being  at  some  distance  from  the  house,  was 
alarmed  by  the  cries  and  shrieks  of  the  women  and  children, 
fled  with  all  his  might  to  Jackson's  river,  and  alarmed  the  peo 
ple  there.  They  however  were  loath  to  believe  his  tale  until 
they  saw  the  Indians  approaching.  All  fled  before  them  ;  and 
they  pursued  on  to  Carr's  Creek,  in  Rockbridge  county,  where 
many  families  were  killed  and  taken  by  them.  At  Clendenin's 
a  scene  of  much  cruelty  was  performed,  not  only  by  the  Indians, 
but  some  such  as  the  terrors  of  their  approach  influenced  thereto. 
In  this  I  refer  to  an  act  committed  by  a  negro  woman,  who  in 
escaping  from  the  Indians  killed  her  own  chiW,  whose  cries 
she  had  reason  to  fear  would  lead  to  her  capture  ! 

Mrs.  Clendenin  did  riot  fail  to  abuse  the  Indians  with  her 
tongue,  with  the  most  reproachful  epithets  she  could  command, 
although  the  tomahawk  was  brandishing  at  the  same  moment 
overhead ;  but  instead  of  bringing  it  down  upon  her,  the  less 
effectual  means  of  silencing  her  clamors  was  resorted  to, 
namely,  lashing  her  in  the  face  and  eyes  with ^  the  bleeding 
scalp  of  her  dead  husband  ! 

The  provisions  were  all  taken  over  to  Muddy  Creek,  and  a 
party  of  Indians  retained  them  there  till  the  return  of  the  oth 
ers  from  Carr's  Creek,  when  the  whole  were  marched  off  to 
gether.  On  the  day  they  started  from  the  foot  of  Kenney's 
Knob,  going  over  the  mountain,  Mrs.  Clendenin  gave  her 
infant  child  to  another  female  prisoner,  to  carry,  to  relieve 
her  for  a  few  paces,  and  in  a  few  moments  after,  a  favorable 
opportunity  offering  for  escape,  she  improved  it  with  such 
alacrity  into  a  dense  thicket  which  they  were  at  the  time  pass 
ing,  that  not  an  Indian  saw  her  or  could  tell  which  way  she 
went.  The  opportunity  was  rendered  more  favorable  by  the 


286'  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

manner  in  which  the  Indians  at  the  time  were  marching 
They  had  placed  the  prisoners  in  the  centre,  and  dividing 
themselves  into  two  companies,  one  marched  before  them  and 
the  other  followed  in  their  rear,  having  each  flank  open,  and 
this  gave  her  the  desired  chance  of  escape. 

It  was  not  until  all  had  left  the  place  that  the  cries  of  Mrs. 
Clendenin's  child  caused  the  Indians  to  inquire  for  its  mother. 
When  they  found  she  had  made  her  escape,  a  monster  Indian 
observed  "  he  would  bring  the  cow  to  her  calf,"  and  taking  the 
infant  by  the  heels,  dashed  out  its  brains  against  a  tree  !  and 
as  though  this  was  not  enough,  the  miscreant  throwing  it  down 
into  the  van,  the  whole  company  marched  over  it,  the  hoofs  of 
the  horses  tearing  out  its  bowels,  and  the  feet  of  the  Indians 
tracked  the  ground  as  they  went  with  its  blood  ! 

Mrs.  Clendenin  returned  that  night  to  her  own  house,  a  dis 
tance  of  more  than  ten  miles.  Here  she  found  her  husband's 
dead  body,  which  she  covered  with  rails.  She  found  him  as 
he  had  been  killed,  with  one  of  his  children  in  his  arms.  He 
was  shot  down  as  he  was  making  his  escape  over  a  fence. 
She  now  returned  to  her  friends  ;  and  thus  ends  the  remark 
able,  though  short  captivity  of  a  woman,  more  to  be  admired 
for  her  courage  than  some  other  qualities  not  less  desirable  in 
the  female  character. 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  OF  ALEXANDER  HENRY,  ESQ.,  WHO,  IN 
THE  TIME  OF  PONTIAK'S  WAR,  FELL  INTO  THE  HANDS  OF 
THE  HURON  INDIANS.  DETAILING  A  FAITHFUL  ACCOUNT 
OF  THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  GARRISON  OF  MICHILIMACKI- 
NAC,  AND  THE  MASSACRE  OF  ABOUT  NINETY  PEOPLE.— 
WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF. 

[Mr.  Henry  was  an  Indian  trader  in  America  for  about  sixteen  years. 
He  came  to  Canada  with  the  army  of  General  Amherst,  and  pre 
vious  to  his  being  made  prisoner  by  the  Indians  experienced  a  variety  of 
fortune.  His  narrative,  as  will  be  seen,  is  written  with  great  candor  as 
well  as  ability,  and  to  the  discriminating  reader  needs  no  encomium. 
He  was  living  in  Montreal  in  1809,  as  appears  from  ihe  date  of  his  pre 
face  to  his  Travels,  which  he  published  in  New  York  that  year,  with  a  dedi 
cation  to  Sir  Joseph  Banks.— Ed.] 

WHEN  I  reached  Michilimackinac  I  found  several  other 
traders,  who  had  arrived  before  me,  from  different  parts  of  the 
country,  and  who,  in  general,  declared  the  dispositions  of  the 
Indians  to  be  hostile  to  the  English,  and  even  apprehended 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  287 

some  attack.  M.  Laurent  Ducharme  distinctly  informed 
Major  Etherington  that  a  plan  was  absolutely  conceived 
for  destroying  him,  his  garrison  and  all  the  English  in  the 
upper  country ;  but  the  commandant  believing  this  and  other 
reports  to  be  without  foundation,  proceeding  only  from  idle  or 
ill-disposed  persons,  and  of  a  tendency  to  do  mischief,  express 
ed  much  displeasure  against  M.  Ducharme,  and  threatened  to 
send  the  next  person  who  should  bring  a  story  of  the  same 
kind,  a  prisoner,  to  Detroit. 

The  garrison,  at  this  time,  consisted  of  ninety  privates,  two 
subalterns  and  the  commandant ;  and  the  English  merchants 
at  the  fort  were  four  in  number.  Thus  strong,  few  entertained 
anxiety  concerning  the  Indians,  who  had  no  weapons  but  small 
arms. 

Meanwhile,  the  Indians,  from  every  quarter,  were  daily 
assembling,  in  unusual  numbers,  but  with  every  appearance  of 
friendship,  frequenting  the  fort,  and  disposing  of  their  peltries, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  dissipate  almost  every  one's  fears.  For 
myself,  on  one  occasion,  I  took  the  liberty  of  observing  to 
Major  Etherington  that,  in  my  judgment,  no  confidence  ought 
to  be  placed  in  them,  and  that  I  was  informed  no  less  than  four 
hundred  lay  around  the  fort. 

In  return  the  major  only  rallied  me  on  my  timidity  ;  and  it 
is  to  be  confessed  that  if  this  officer  neglected  admonition,  on 
his  p-irt,  so  did  I  on  mine.  Shortly  after  my  first  ariival  at 
Michilimackinac,  in  the  preceding  year,  a  Chippeway,  named 
Wawatam,  began  to  come  often  to  my  house,  betraying  in  his 
demeanor  strong  marks  of  personal  regard.  After  this  had 
continued  some  time,  he  came  on  a  certain  day,  bringing  with 
him  his  whole  family,  and  at  the  same  time  a  large  present, 
consisting  of  skins,  sugar  and  dried  meat.  Having  laid  these 
in  a  heap,  he  commenced  a  speech,  in  which  he  informed  me 
that  some  years  before  he  had  observed  a  fast,  devoting  him 
self,  according  to  the  custom  of  his  nation,  to  solitude,  and  to 
the  mortification  of  his  body,  in  the  hope  to  obtain,  from  the 
Great  Spirit,  protection  through  all  his  days ;  that  on  this 
occasion  he  had  dreamed  of  adopting  an  Englishman  as  his 
son,  brother  and  friend ;  that  from  the  moment  in  which  he 
first  beheld  me  he  had  recognised  me  as  the  person  whom  the 
Great  Spirit  had  been  pleased  to  point  out  to  him  for  a  brother; 
that  he  hoped  that  I  would  not  refuse  his  present ;  and  that  he 
should  forever  regard  me  as  one  of  his  family. 

I  could  do  no  otherwise  than  accept  the  present,  and  declare 
my  willingness  to  have  so  good  a  man  as  this  appeared  to  be  for 
my  friend  and  brother.  I  offered  a  present  in  return  for  that 
which  I  had  received,  which  Wawatam  accepted,  and  then, 


288  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

thanking  me  for  the  favor  which  he  said  that  I  had  rendered 
him,  he  left  me,  and  soon  after  set  out  on  his  winter's  hunt. 

Twelve  months  had  now  elapsed  since  the  occurrence  of  this 
incident,  and  I  had  almost  forgotten  the  person  of  my  brother, 
when,  on  the  second  day  of  June,  Wawatam  came  again  to 
my  house,  in  a  temper  of  mind  visibly  melancholy  and 
thoughtful.  He  told  me  that  he  had  just  returned  from  his 
wintering  ground,  and  I  asked  after  his  health  ;  but  without 
answering  my  question,  he  went  on  to  say,  that  he  was  sorry 
to  find  me  returned  from  the  Sault ;  that  he  intended  to  go  to 
that  place  himself,  immediately  after  his  arrival  at  Michili- 
mackinac ;  and  that  he  wished  me  to  go  there  along  with  him 
and  his  family  the  next  morning.  To  all  this  he  joined  an 
inquiry,  whether  or  not  the  commandant  had  heard  bad  news, 
adding  that  during  the  winter  he  had  himself  been  frequently 
disturbed  with  the  noise  of  evil  birds  ;  and  further  suggesting 
that  there  were  numerous  Indians  near  the  fort,  many  of  whom 
had  never  shown  themselves  within  it.  Wawatam  was  about 
forty-five  years  of  age,  of  an  excellent  character  among  his 
nation,  and  a  chief. 

Referring  much  of  what  I  heard  to  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Indian  character,  I  did  not  pay  all  the  attention  which  they 
will  be  found  to  have  deserved  to  the  entreaties  arid  remarks  of 
my  visitor.  I  answered  that  I  could  not  think  of  going  to  the 
Sault  so  soon  as  the  next  morning,  but  would  follow  him 
there  after  the  arrival  of  my  clerks.  Finding  himself  unable 
to  prevail  with  me,  he  withdrew  for  that  day  ;  but  early  the 
next  morning  he  came  again,  bringing  with  him  his  wife, 
and  a  present  of  dried  meat.  At  this  interview,  after  stating 
that  he  had  several  packs  of  beaver,  for  which  he  intended  to 
deal  with  me,  he  expressed  a  second  time  his  apprehensions, 
from  the  numerous  Indians  who  were  round  the  fort,  and  ear 
nestly  pressed  me  to  consent  to  an  immediate  departure  for  the 
Sault.  As  a  reason  for  this,  particular  request,  he  assured  me 
that  all  the  Indians  proposed  to  come  in  a  body,  that  day,  to 
the  fort,  to  demand  liquor  of  the  commandant,  and  that  he 
wished  me  to  be  gone  before  they  should  grow  intoxicated. 

I  had  made,  at  the  period  to  which  I  am  now  referring,  so 
much  progress  in  the  language  in  which  Wawatam  addressed 
me,  as  to  be  able  to  hold  an  ordinary  conversation  in  it ;  but 
the  Indian  manner  of  speech  is  so  extravagantly  figurative  that  it 
is  only  for  a  perfect  master  to  follow  and  comprehend  it  entirely. 
Had  I  been  further  advanced  in  this  respect,  I  think  that  I 
should  have  gathered  so  much  information,  from  this  my 
friendly  monitor,  as  would  have  put  me  into  possession  of  the 
design  of  the  enemy,  and  enabled  me  to  save  as  well  others  as 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S   CAPTIVITY. 

myself;  as  it  was,  it  unfortunately  happened  that  I  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  every  thing,  leaving  Wawatam  and  his  wife, 
after  long  and  patient,  but  ineffectual  efforts,  to  depart  alone, 
with  dejected  countenances,  and  not  before  they  had  each  let 
fall  some  tears. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  day,  I  observed  that  the  Indians 
came  in  great  numbers  into  the  fort,  purchasing  tomahawks, 
(small  axes  of  one  pound  weight,)  and  frequently  desiring  to 
see  silver  arm-bands,  and  other  valuable  ornaments,  of  which 
I  had  a  large  quantity  for  sale.  The  ornaments,  however, 
they  in  no  instance  purchased,  but,  after  turning  them  over, 
left  them,  saying  that  they  would  call  again  the  next  day.  Their 
motive,  as  it  afterward  appeared,  was  no  other  than  the  very 
artful  one  of  discovering,  by  requesting  to  see  them,  the  par 
ticular  places  of  their  deposit,  so  that  they  might  lay  their 
hands  on  them  in  the  moment  of  pillage  with  the  greater  cer 
tainty  and  dispatch. 

At  night,  I  turned  in  my  mind  the  visits  of  Wawatam  ;  but, 
though  they  were  calculated  to  excite  uneasiness,  nothing  in 
duced  me  to  believe  that  serious  mischief  was  at  hand.  The 
next  day,  being  the  fourth  of  June,  was  the  king's  birth-day. 

The  morning  was  sultry.  A  Chippeway  came  to  tell  me 
that  his  nation  was  going  to  play  at  baggatiway,  with  the 
Sacs  or  Saakies,  another  Indian  nation,  for  a  high  wager.  He 
invited  me  to  witness  the  sport,  adding  that  the  commandant 
was  to  be  there,  and  would  bet  on  the  side  of  the  Chippeways. 
In  consequence  of  this  information,  I  went  to  the  commandant, 
and  expostulated  with  him  a  little,  representing  that  the  Indians 
might  possibly  have  some  sinister  end  in  view  ;  but  the  com 
mandant  only  smiled  at  my  suspicions. 

Baggatiway,  called  by  the  Canadians  le  jeu  de  la  crosse,  is 
played  with  a  bat  and  ball.  The  bat  is  about  four  feet  in 
length,  curved,  and  terminating  in  a  sort  of  racket.  Two  posts 
are  planted  in  the  ground,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  each 
other,  as  a  mile  or  more.  Each  party  has  its  post,  and  the 
game  consists  in  throwing  the  ball  up  to  the  post  of  the  adver 
sary.  The  ball  at  the  beginning  is  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  course,  and  each  party  endeavors  as  well  to  throw  the  ball 
out  of  the  direction  of  its  own  post,  as  into  that  of  the  adver 
sary's. 

I  did  not  go  myself  to  see  the  match  which  was  now  to  be 
played  without  the  fort,  because,  there  being  a  canoe  prepared  to 
depart,  on  the  following  day,  for  Montreal,  I  employed  myself 
in  writing  letters  to  my  friends  ;  and  even  when  a  fellow-tra 
der,  Mr.  Tracy,  happened  to  call  upon  me,  saying  that  another 
canoe  had  just  arrived  from  Detroit,  and  proposing  that  I 
19 


290  ALEXANDER    HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

should  go  with  him  to  the  heach,  to  inquire  the  news,  it  so 
happened  that  I  still  remained,  to  finish  my  letters  ;  promising 
to  follow  Mr.  Tracy  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes.  Mr. 
Tracy  had  not  gone  more  than  twenty  paces  from  the  door, 
when  I  heard  an  Indian  war-cry,  and  a  noise  of  general  con 
fusion. 

Going  instantly  to  my  window,  I  saw  a  crowd  of  Indians, 
within  the  fort,  furiously  cutting  down  and  scalping  every 
Englishman  they  found.  In  particular,  I  witnessed  the  fate  of 
Lieutenant  Jemette. 

I  had  in  the  room  in  which  I  was  a  fowling-piece,  loaded 
with  swan-shot.  This  I  immediately  seized,  and  held  it  for  a 
few  minutes,  waiting  to  hear  the  drum  beat  to  arms.  In  this 
dreadful  interval  I  saw  several  of  my  countrymen  fall,  and 
more  than  one  struggling  between  the  knees  of  an  Indian,  who. 
holding  him  in  this  manner,  scalped  him  while  yet  living. 

At  length,  disappointed  in  the  hope  of  seeing  resistance  made 
to  the  enemy,  and  sensible  of  course  that  no  effort  of  my  own 
unassisted  arm  could  avail  against  four  hundred  Indians,  I 
thought  only  of  seeking  shelter.  Amid  the  slaughter  which 
was  raging,  I  observed  many  of  the  Canadian  inhabitants  of 
the  fort  calmly  looking  on,  neither  opposing  the  Indians  nor 
suffering  injury;  and  from  this  circumstance  I  conceived  a 
hope  of  finding  security  in  their  houses. 

Between  the  yard-door  of  my  own  house  and  that  of  M. 
Langlade,  my  next  neighbor,  there  was  only  a  low  fence,  over 
which  I  easily  climbed.  At  my  entrance  I  found  the  whole 
family  at  the  windows,  gazing  at  the  scene  of  blood  before 
them.  I  addressed  myself  immediately  to  M.  Langlade,  beg 
ging  that  he  would  put  me  into  some  place  of  safety,  until  the 
heat  of  the  affair  should  be  over ;  an  act  of  charity  by  which 
he  might  perhaps  preserve  me  from  the  general  massacre ;  but 
while  I  uttered  my  petition,  M.  Langlade,  who  had  looked  for 
a  moment  at  me,  turned  again  to  the  window,  shrugging  his 
shoulders,  and  intimating  that  he  could  do  nothing  for  me : — 
"  Que  voudriez-vous  que  j'en  ferais  ?  " 

This  was  a  moment  for  despair ;  but  the  next,  a  Pani  wo 
man,5*  a  slave  of  M.  Lan glade's,  beckoned  to  me  to  follow  her. 
She  brought  me  to  a  door,  which  she  opened,  desiring  me  to 
enter,  and  telling  me  that  it  led  to  the  garret,  where  I  must  go 
and  conceal  myself.  I  joyfully  obeyed  her  directions;  and 
she,  having  followed  me  up  to  the  garret-door,  locked  it  after 
me,  and  with  great  presence  of  mind  took  away  the  key. 

This  shelter  obtained,  if  shelter  I  could  hope  to  find  it,  I  was 

*  The  Ponies  are  an  Indian  nation  of  the  south 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  29. 

naturally  anxious  to  know  what  might  still  be  passing  without. 
Through  an  aperture,  which  afforded  me  a  view  of  the  area  of 
the  fort,  I  beheld,  in  shapes  the  foulest  and  most  terrible,  the 
ferocious  triumphs  of  barbarian  conquerors.  The  dead  were 
scalped  and  mangled ;  the  dying  were  writhing  and  shrieking 
under  the  unsatiated  knife  and  tomahawk;  and  from  the  bodies 
of  some,  ripped  open,  their  butchers  were  drinking  the  blood, 
scooped  up  in  the  hollow  of  joined  hands,  and  quaffed  amid 
shouts  of  rage  and  victory.  I  was  shaken  not  only  with  horror, 
but  with  fear.  The  sufferings  which  I  witnessed,  I  seemed  on 
the  point  of  experiencing.  No  long  time  elapsed  before,  every 
one  being  destroyed,  who  could  be  found,  there  was  a  general 
cry  of  "  All  is  finished  ! "  At  the  same  instant  I  heard  some 
of  the  Indians  enter  the  house  in  which  I  was. 

The  garret  was  separated  from  the  room  below  only  by  a 
layer  of  single  boards,  at  once  the  flooring  of  the  one  and  the 
ceiling  of  the  other.  I  could  therefore  hear  every  thing  that 
passed  ;  and  the  Indians  no  sooner  came  in  than  they  inquired 
whether  or  not  any  Englishman  were  in  the  house.  M.  Lang- 
lade  replied  that  "he  could  not  say;  he  did  not  know  of  any;" 
answers  in  which  he  did  not  exceed  the  truth ;  for  the  Pani 
woman  had  not  only  hidden  me  by  stealth,  but  kept  my  secret 
and  her  own.  M.  Langlade  was  therefore,  as  I  presume,  as 
far  from  a  wish  to  destroy  me  as  he  was  careless  about  saving 
me,  when  he  added  to  these  answers,  that  "  they  might  exa 
mine  for  themselves,  and  would  soon  be  satisfied  as  to  the 
object  of  their  question."  Saying  this,  he  brought  them  to  the 
garret-door. 

The  state  of  my  mind  will  be  imagined.  Arrived  at  the 
door,  some  delay  was  occasioned  by  the  absence  of  the  key, 
and  a  few  moments  were  thus  allowed  me  in  which  to  look 
around  for  a  hiding-place.  In  one  corner  of  the  garret  was  a 
heap  of  those  vessels  of  birch-bark  used  in  maple-sugar  making, 
as  I  have  recently  described. 

The  door  was  unlocked  and  opening,  and  the  Indians  ascend 
ing  the  stairs,  before  I  had  completely  crept  into  a  small  open 
ing  which  presented  itself  at  one  end  of  the  heap.  An  instant 
after,  four  Indians  entered  the  room,  all  armed  with  tomahawks, 
and  all  besmeared  with  blood  upon  every  part  of  their  bodies. 

The  die  appeared  to  be  cast.  I  could  scarcely  breathe;  but 
I  thought  that  the  throbbing  of  my  heart  occasioned  a  noise 
loud  enough  to  betray  me.  The  Indians  walked  in  every 
direction  about  the  garret,  and  one  of  them  approached  me  so 
closely  that  at  a  particular  moment,  had  he  put  forth  his  hand, 
he  must  have  touched  me.  Still  I  remained  undiscovered;  a 
circumstance  to.  which  the  dark  color  of  my  clothes,  and -.the 


292  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S   CAPTIVITY. 

want  of  light  in  a  room  which  had  no  window,  and  in  the 
corner  in  which  I  was,  must  have  contributed.  In  a  word ,  after 
taking  several  turns  in  the  room,  during  which  they  toid  M. 
Langlade  how  many  they  had  killed,  and  how  many  scalps 
they  had  taken,  they  returned  down  stairs,  and  I,  with  sensa 
tions  not  to  be  expressed,  heard  the  door,  which  was  the  barrier 
between  me  and  my  fate,  locked  for  the  second  time. 

There  was  a  feather-bed  on  the  floor  ;  and  on  this,  exhausted 
as  I  was  by  the  agitation  of  my  mind,  I  threw  myself  down 
and  fell  asleep.  In  this  state  I  remained  till  the  dusk  of  the 
evening,  when  I  was  awakened  by  a  second  opening  of  the 
door.  The  person  that  now  entered  was  M.  Lan glade's  wife, 
who  was  much  surprised  at  finding  me,  but  advised  me  not  to 
be  uneasy,  observing  that  the  Indians  had  killed  most  of  the 
English,  but  that  she  hoped  I  might  myself  escape.  A  shower 
of  rain  having  begun  to  fall,  she  had  come  to  stop  a  hole  in  the 
roof.  On  her  going  away,  I  begged  her  to  send  me  a  little 
water  to  drink ;  which  she  did. 

As  night  was  now  advancing,  I  continued  to  lie  on  the  bed, 
ruminating  on  my  condition,  but  unable  to  discover  a  resource 
from  which  I  could  hope  for  life.  A  flight  to  Detroit  had  no 
probable  chance  of  success.  The  distance  from  Michilimacki- 
nac  was  four  hundred  miles ;  I  was  without  provisions ;  and 
the  whole  length  of  the  road  lay  through  Indian  countries, 
countries  of  an  enemy  in  arms,  where  the  first  man  whom  I 
should  meet  would  kill  me.  To  stay  where  I  was  threatened 
nearly  the  same  issue.  As  before,  fatigue  of  mind,  and  not 
tranquillity,  suspended  my  cares,  and  procured  me  further 
sleep. 

The  game  of  baggatiway,  as  from  the  description  above  will 
have  been  perceived,  is  necessarily  attended  with  much  vio 
lence  and  noise.  In  the  ardor  of  contest,  the  ball,  as  has  been 
suggested,  if  it  cannot  be  thrown  to  the  goal  desired,  is  struck 
in  any  direction  by  which  it  can  be  diverted  from  that  designed 
by  the  adversary.  At  such  a  moment,  therefore,  nothing  could 
be  less  liable  to  excite  premature  alarm,  than  that  the  ball 
should  be  tossed  over  the  pickets  of  the  fort,  nor  that,  having 
fallen  there,  it  should  be  followed  on  the  instant  by  all  engaged 
in  the  game,  as  well  the  one  party  as  the  other,  all  eager,  all 
struggling,  all  shouting,  all  in  the  unrestrained  pursuit  of  a 
rude  athletic  exercise.  Nothing  could  be  less  fitted  to  excite 
premature  alarm;  nothing,  therefore,  could  be  more  happily 
devised,  under  the  circumstances,  than  a  stratagem  like  this; 
and  this  was,  in  fact,  the  stratagem  which  the  Indians  had  em 
ployed,  by  which  they  had  obtained  possession  of  the  fort,  and 
by  which  they  had  been  enabled  to  slaughter  and  subdue  its 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  293 

garrison,  and  such,  of  its  other  inhabitants  as  they  pleased.  To 
be  still  more  certain  of  success,  they  had  prevailed  upon  as 
many  as  they  could,  by  a  pretext  the  least  liable  to  suspicion, 
to  come  voluntarily  without  the  pickets  ;  and  particularly  the 
commandant  and  garrison  themselves. 

The  respite  which  sleep  afforded  me,  during  the  night,  was 
put  an  end  to  by  the  return  of  morning.  I  was  again  on  the 
rack  of  apprehension.  At  sunrise,  I  heard  the  family  stirring ; 
and  presently  after  Indian  voices,  informing  M.  Langlade  that 
they  had  not  found  my  hapless  self  among  the  dead,  and  that 
they  supposed  me  to  be  somewhere  concealed.  M.  Langlade 
appeared,  from  what  followed,  to  be  by  this  time  acquainted 
with  the  place  of  my  retreat,  of  which,  no  doubt,  he  had  been 
informed  by  his  wife.  The  poor  woman,  as  soon  as  the  In 
dians  mentioned  me,  declared  to  her  husband,  in  the  French 
tongue,  that  he  should  no  longer  keep  me  in  his  house,  but 
deliver  me  up  to  my  pursuers  ;  giving  as  a  reason  for  this 
measure,  that,  should  the  Indians  discover  his  instrumentality 
in  my  concealment,  they  might  revenge  it  on  her  children,  and 
that  it  was  better  that  I  should  die  than  they.  M.  Langlade 
resisted  at  first  this  sentence  of  his  wife's,  but  soon  suffered 
her  to  prevail,  informing  the  Indians  that  he  had  been  told  I 
was  in  his  house,  that  I  had  come  there  without  his  knowledge, 
and  that  he  would  put  me  into  their  hands.  This  was  no 
sooner  expressed  than  he  began  to  ascend  the  stairs,  the  In 
dians  following  upon  his  heels. 

I  now  resigned  myself  to  the  fate  with  which  I  was  menaced ; 
and  regarding  every  attempt  at  concealment  as  vain,  I  arose 
from  the  bed,  and  presented  myself  full  in  view  to  the  Indians 
who  were  entering  the  room.  They  were  all  in  a  state  of 
intoxication,  and  entirely  naked,  except  about  the  middle.  One 
of  them,  named  Wennivvay,  whom  I  had  previously  known, 
and  who  was  upward  of  six  feet  in  height,  had  his  entire  face 
and  body  covered  with  charcoal  and  grease,  only  that  a  white 
spot,  of  two  inches  in  diameter,  encircled  either  eye.  This 
man,  walking  up  to  me,  seized  me  with  one  hand  by  the  collar 
of  the  coat,  while  in  the  other  he  held  a  large  carving  knife, 
as  if  to  plunge  it  into  my  breast ;  his  eyes  meanwhile  were 
fixed  steadfastly  on  mine.  At  length,  after  some  seconds  of  the 
most  anxious  suspense,  he  dropped  his  arm,  saying,  "  I  won't 
kill  you ! "  To  this  he  added,  that  he  had  been  frequently 
engaged  in  wars  against  the  English,  and  had  brought  away 
many  scalps  ;  th~t  on  a  certain  occasion  he  had  lost  a  brother, 
whose  name  was  Musinigon,  and  that  I  should  be  called  after 
aim. 

A  reprieve  upon  any  terms  placed  me  among  the  living,  and 


39 


294  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

gave  me  back  the  sustaining  voice  of  hope  ;  but  Wenniway 
ordered  me  down  stairs,  and  there  informing  me  that  I  was  to 
be  taken  to  his  cabin,  where,  and  indeed  everywhere  else,  the 
Indians  were  all  mad  with  liquor,  death  again  was  threatened, 
and  not  as  possible  only,  but  as  certain.  I  mentioned  my  fears 
on  this  subject  to  M.  Langlade,  begging  him  to  represent  the 
danger  to  my  master.  M.  Langlade,  in  this  instance,  did  not 
withhold  his  compassion, and  Wenniway  immediately  consented 
that  I  should  remain  where  I  was,  until  he  found  another  op 
portunity  to  take  me  away. 

Thus  far  secure,  I  re-ascended  my  garret-stairs,  in  order  to 
place  myself  the  furthest  possible  out  of  the  reach  of  insult 
from  drunken  Indians ;  but  I  had  not  remained  there  more  than 
an  hour,  when  I  was  called  to  the  room  below,  in  which  was 
an  Indian,  who  said  that  I  must  go  with  him  out  of  the  fort, 
Wenniway  having  sent  him  to  fetch  me.  This  man,  as  well 
as  Wenniway  himself,  I  had  seen  before.  In  the  preceding 
year,  I  had  allowed  him  to  take  goods  on  credit,  for  which  he 
was  still  in  my  debt ;  and  some  short  time  previous  to  the  sur 
prise  of  the  fort  he  had  said,  upon  my  upbraiding  him  with 
want  of  honesty,  that  "  he  would  pay  me  before  long  ! "  This 
speech  now  came  fresh  into  my  memory,  and  led  me  to  suspect 
that  the  fellow  had  formed  a  design  against  my  life.  I  com 
municated  the  suspicion  to  M.  Langlade ;  but  he  gave  for 
answer  that  "  I  was  not  now  my  own  master,  and  must  do  as 
I  was  onlered." 

The  Indian,  on  his  part,  directed  that  before  I  left  the  house 
I  should  undress  myself,  declaring  that  my  coat  and  shirt  would 
become  him  better  than  they  did  me.  His  pleasure  in  this 
respect  being  complied  with,  no  other  alternative  was  left  me 
than  either  to  go  out  naked,  or  to  put  on  the  clothes  of  the  In 
dian,  which  he  freely  gave  me  in  exchange.  His  motive  for 
thus  stripping  me  of  my  own  apparel  was  no  other,  as  I  after 
ward  learned,  than  this,  that  it  might  not  be  stained  with  blood 
when  he  should  kill  me. 

I  was  now  told  to  proceed  ;  and  my  driver  followed  me  close, 
until  I  had  passed  the  gate  of  the  fort,  when  I  turned  toward 
the  spot  where  I  knew  the  Indians  to  be  encamped.  This, 
however,  did  not  suit  the  purpose  of  my  enemy,  who  seized 
me  by  the  arm,  and  drew  me  violently  in  the  opposite  direction, 
to  the  distance  of  fifty  yards  above  the  fort.  Here,  finding  that 
I  was  approaching  the  bushes  and  sand-hills,  I  determined  to 
proceed  no  further,  but  told  the  Indian  that  I  believed  he  meant 
to  murder  me,  and  that  if  so  he  might  as  well  strike  where  I 
was  as  at  any  greater  distance.  He  replied,  with  coolness,  that 
my  suspicions  were  just,  and  that  he  meant  to  pay  me  in  this 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  296 

manner  for  my  goods.  At  the  same  time  he  produced  a  knife, 
and  held  me  in  a  position  to  receive  the  intended  blow.  Both 
this  and  that  which  followed  were  necessarily  the  affair  of  a 
moment.  By  some  effort,  too  sudden  and  too  little  dependent 
on  thought  to  be  explained  or  remembered,  I  was  enabled  to 
arrest  his  arm,  and  give  him  a  sudden  push,  by  which  I  turned 
him  from  me,  and  released  myself  from  his  grasp.  This  was 
no  sooner  done  than  I  ran  toward  the  fort,  with  all  the  swift 
ness  in  my  power,  the  Indian  following  me,  and  I  expecting 
every  moment  to  feel  his  knife.  I  succeeded  in  rny  flight; 
and,  on  entering  the  fort,  I  saw  Wenniway  standing  in  the 
midst  of  the  area,  and  to  him  I  hastened  for  protection.  Wen 
niway  desired  the  Indian  to  desist;  but  the  latter  pursued  me 
round  him,  making  several  strokes  at  me  with  his  knife,  and 
foaming  at  the  mouth  with  rage  at  the  repeated  failure  of  his 
purpose.  At  length  Wenniway  drew  near  to  M.  Langlade's 
house ;  and  the  door  being  open,  I  ran  into  it.  The  Indian 
followed  me ;  but  on  my  entering  the  house,  he  voluntarily 
abandoned  the  pursuit. 

Preserved  so  often,  and  so  unexpectedly,  as  it  had  now  been 
my  lot  to  be,  I  returned  to  my  garret,  with  a  strong  inclina 
tion  to  believe  that,  through  the  will  of  an  overruling  power, 
no  Indian  enemy  could  do  me  hurt ;  but  new  trials,  as  I  believed, 
were  at  hand,  when,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  I  was  roused 
from  sleep,  and  once  more  desired  to  descend  the  stairs.  Not 
less,  however,  to  my  satisfaction  than  surprise,  I  was  sum 
moned  only  to  meet  Major  Etherington,  Mr.  Bo&twick  and 
Lieutenant  Lesslie,  who  were  in  the  room  below. 

These  gentlemen  had  been  taken  prisoners,  while  looking 
at  the  game,  without  the  fort,  and  immediately  stripped  of  all 
their  clothes.  They  were  now  sent  into  the  fort,  under  the 
charge  of  Canadians,  because,  the  Indians  having  resolved  on 
getting  drunk,  the  chiefs  were  apprehensive  that  they  would 
be  murdered  if  they  continued  in  the  camp.  Lieutenant 
Jemette  and  seventy  soldiers  had  been  killed  ;  and  but  twenty 
Englishmen,  including  soldiers,  were  still  alive.  These  were 
all  within  the  fort,  together  with  nearly  three  hundred  Cana 
dians  belonging  to  the  canoes,  &c. 

These  being  our  numbers,  myself  and  others  proposed  to  Maj. 
Etherington  to  make  an  effort  for  regaining  possession  of  the  fort, 
and  maintaining  it  against  the  Indians.  The  Jesuit  missionary 
was  consulted  on  the  project ;  but  he  discouraged  us,  by  his  rep 
resentations,  not  only  of  the  merciless  treatment  which  we  must 
expect  from  tho  Indians,  should  they  regain  their  superiority, 
but  of  the  little  dependence  which  was  to  be  placed  upon  our 
Canadian  auxiliaries.  Thus  the  fort  and  prisoners  remained 


296  ALEXANDER    HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

in  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  though,  through  the  whole  night, 
the  prisoners  and  whites  were  in  actual  possession,  and  they 
were  without  the  gates. 

That  whole  night,  or  the  greater  part  of  it,  was  passed  m 
mutual  condolence;  and  my  fellow-prisoners  shared  my  garret. 
In  the  morning,  being  again  called  down,  I  found  my  master 
Wenniway,  and  was  desired  to  follow  him.  He  led  me  to  a  small 
house,  within  the  fort,  where,  in  a  narrow  room,  and  almost 
dark,  I  found  Mr.Ezekiel  Solomons,  an  Englishman  from  Detroit, 
and  a  soldier,  all  prisoners.  With  these,  I  remained  in  pain 
ful  suspense,  as  to  the  scene  that  was  next  to  present  itself,  till 
ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  when  an  Indian  arrived,  and  pres 
ently  marched  us  to  the  lake-side,  where  a  canoe  appeared 
ready  for  departure,  and  in  which  we  found  that  we  were  to 
embark. 

Our  voyage,  full  of  doubt  as  it  was,  would  have  commenced 
immediately,  but  that  one  of  the  Indians,  who  was  to  be  of 
the  party,  was  absent.  His  arrival  was  to  be  waited  for ;  and 
this  occasioned  a  very  long  delay,  during  which  we  were 
exposed  to  a  keen  north-east  wind.  An  old  shirt  was  all  thai 
covered  me;  I  suffered  much  from  the  cold;  and  in  this 
extremity,  M.  Langlade  coming  down  to  the  beach,  I  asked 
him  for  a  blanket,  promising  if  I  lived  to  pay  him  for  it,  at  any 
price  he  pleased  ;  but  the  answer  I  received  was  this,  that  Be 
could  let  me  have  no  blanket  unless  there  were  some  one  to 
be  security  for  the  payment.  For  myself,  he  observed,  I  had 
no  longer  any  property  in  that  country.  I  had  no  more  te  say 
to  M.  Langlade ;  but  presently  seeing  another  Canadian, 
named  John  Cuchoise,  I  addressed  to  him  a  similar  request,  and 
was  not  refused.  Naked  as  I  was  and  rigorous  as  was  the 
weather,  but  for  the  blanket  I  must  have  perished.  At  noon, 
our  party  was  all  collected,  the  prisoners  all  embarked,  and  we 
steered  for  the  Isles  du  Castor,  [Beaver  Island,]  in  lake  Michigan. 

The  soldier  who  was  our  companion  in  misfortune  was  made 
fast  to  a  bar  of  the  canoe,  by  a  rope  tied  round  his  neck,  as 
is  the  manner  of  the  Indians  in  transporting  their  prisoners. 
The  rest  were  left  unconfined ;  but  a  paddle  was  put  into  each 
of  our  hands,  and  we  were  made  to  use  it.  The  Indians  in 
the  canoe  were  seven  in  number,  the  prisoners  four.  I  had 
left,  as  it  will  be  recollected,  Major  Etherington,  Lieutenant 
Lesslie  and  Mr.  Bostwick,  at  M.  Langlade's,  and  was  now 
joined  in  misery  with  Mr.  Ezekiel  Solomons,  the  soldier,  and 
the  Englishman  who  had  newly  arrived  from  Detroit.  This 
was  on  the  sixth  day  of  June.  The  fort  was  taken  on  the 
fourth  ;  I  surrendered  myself  to  Wenniway  on  the  fifth ;  and 
this  was  the  third  day  of'  our  distress. 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  297 

We  were  bound,  as  I  have  said,  for  the  Isles  du  Castor, 
which  lie  in  the  mouth  of  lake  Michigan;  and  we  should 
have  crossed  the  lake,  but  that  a  thick  fog  came  on,  on  account 
of  which  the  Indians  deemed  it  safer  to  keep  the  shore  close 
under  their  lee.  We  therefore  approached  the  lands  of  the 
Ottawas,  and  their  village  of  L'Arbre  Croche,  already  men 
tioned  as  lying  about  twenty  miles  to  the  westward  of  Michili- 
mackinac,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  tongue  of  land  on  which 
the  fort  is  built. 

Every  half  hour,  the  Indians  gave  their  war-whoops,  one 
for  every  prisoner  in  their  canoe.  This  is  a  general  custom, 
by  the  aid  of  which  all  other  Indians,  within  hearing,  are 
apprized  of  the  number  of  prisoners  they  are  carrying. 

In  this  manner,  we  reached  Wagoshense,  Fox-point,  a  long 
point,  stretching  westward  into  the  lake,  and  which  the  Ottawas 
make  a  carrying  place,  to  avoid  going  round  it.  It  is  distant 
eighteen  miles  from  Michilimackinac.  After  the  Indians  had 
made  their  war-whoop,  as  before,  an  Ottawa  appeared  upon  the 
beach,  who  made  signs  that  we  should  land.  In  consequence, 
we  approached.  The  Ottawa  asked  the  news,  and  kept  the 
Chippeways  in  further  conversation,  till  we  were  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  land,  and  in  shallow  water.  At  this  moment,  a 
hundred  men  rushed  upon  us,  from  among  the  bushes,  and 
dragged  all  the  prisoners  out  of  the  canoes,  amid  a  terrifying 
shout. 

We  now  believed  that  our  last  sufferings  were  approaching; 
but  no  sooner  were  we  fairly  on  shore,  and  on  our  legs,  than 
the  chiefs  of  the  party  advanced,  and  gave  each  of  us  their 
hands,  telling  us  that  they  were  our  friends,  and  Ottawas, 
whom  the  Chippeways  had  insulted,  by  destroying  the  English 
without  consulting  with  them  on  the  affair.  They  added  that 
what  they  had  done  was  for  the  purpose  of  saving  our  lives,  the 
Chippeways  having  been  carrying  us  to  the  Isles  du  Castor 
only  to  kill  and  devour  us. 

The  reader's  imagination  is  here  distracted  by  the  variety  of 
our  fortunes,  and  he  may  well  paint  to  himself  the  state  of  mind 
of  those  who  sustained  them,  who  were  the  sport  or  the  vic 
tims  of  a  series  of  events,  more  like  dreams  than  realities, 
more  like  fiction  than  truth  !  It  was  not  long  before  we  were 
embarked  again,  in  the  canoes  of  the  Ottawas,  who,  the  same 
evening,  relanded  us  at  Michilimackinac,  where  they  marched 
us  into  the  fort,  i'n  view  of  the  Chippeways,  confounded  at 
beholding  the  Ottawas  espouse  a  side  opposite  to  their  own. 

The  Ottawas,  who  had  accompanied  us  in  sufficient  num 
bers,  took  possession  of  the  fort.  We,  who  had  changed  mas- 


298  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

ters,  but  were  still  prisoners,  were  lodged  in  the  house  of  the 
commandant,  and  strictly  guarded. 

Early  the  next  morning,  a  general  council  was  held,  in 
which  the  Chippeways  complained  much  of  the  conduct  of 
the  Ottawas  in  robbing  them  of  their  prisoners  ;  alleging  that 
all  the  Indians,  the  Ottawas  alone  excepted,  were  at  -war  with 
the  English  ;  that  Pontiac  had  taken  Detroit ;  that  the  king 
of  France  had  awoke,  and  repossessed  himself  of  Quebec  and 
Montreal ;  and  that  the  English  were  meeting  destruction, 
not  only  at  Michilimackinac,  but  in  every  other  part  of  the 
world.  From  all  this  they  inferred  that  it  became  the  Ottawas 
to  restore  the  prisoners,  and  to  join  in  the  war;  and  the  speech 
was  followed  by  large  presents,  being  part  of  the  plunder  of 
the  fort,  and  which  was  previously  heaped  in  the  centre  of 
the  room.  The  Indians  rarely  make  their  answers  till  the  day 
after  they  have  heard  the  arguments  offered.  They  did  not 
depart  from  their  custom  on  this  occasion  ;  and  the  council 
therefore  adjourned. 

We,  the  prisoners,  whose  fate  was  thus  in  controversy,  were 
unacquainted  at  the  time  with  this  transaction ;  and  therefore 
enjoyed  a  night  of  tolerable  tranquillity,  not  in  the  least  sus 
pecting  the  reverse  which  was  preparing  for  us.  Which  of 
the  arguments  of  the  Chippeways,  or  whether  or  not  all 
were  deemed  valid  by  the  Ottawas,  I  cannot  say ;  but  the 
council  was  resumed  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  and, 
after  several  speeches  had  been  made  in  it,  the  prisoners  were 
sent  for,  and  returned  to  the  Chippeways. 

The  Ottawas,  who  now  gave  us  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chippeways,  had  themselves  declared  that  the  latter  designed 
no  other  than  to  kill  us,  and  make  broth  of  us.  The  Chippe 
ways,  as  soon  as  we  were  restored  to  them,  marched  us  to  a 
village  of  their  own,  situate  on  the  point  which  is  below  the 
fort,  and  put  us  into  a  lodge,  already  the  prison  of  fourteen 
soldiers,  tied  two  and  two,  with  each  a  rope  about  his  neck,  and 
made  fast  to  a  pole  which  might  be  called  the  supporter  of  the 
building. 

I  was  left  untied  ;  but  I  passed  a  night  sleepless  and  full  of 
wretchedness.  My  bed  was  the  bare  ground,  and  I  was 
again  reduced  to  an  old  shirt,  as  my  entire  apparel ;  the 
blanket  which  I  had  received,  through  the  generosity  of  M. 
Cuchoise,  having  been  taken  from  me  among  the  Ottawas, 
when  they  seized  upon  myself  and  the  others,  at  Wagoshense. 
I  was,  besides,  in  want  of  food,  having  for  two  days  eaten  noth 
ing. 

I  confess  that  in  the  canoe  with  the  Chippeways  I  was 
offered  bread  ;  but,  bread,  with  what  accompaniment !  They 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  299 

nad  a  loaf,  which  they  cut  with  the  same  knives  that  they  had 
employed  in  the  massacre — kaives  still  covered  with  blood. 
The  blood  they  moistened  with  spittle,  a«nd  rubbing  it  on 
the  bread,  offered  this  for  food  to  their  prisoners,  telling  them 
to  eat  the  blood  of  their  countrymen. 

Such  was  my  situation  on  the  morning  of  the  seventh  of 
June,  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-three; 
but  a  few  hours  produced  an  event  which  gave  still  a  new 
color  to  my  lot. 

Toward  noon,  when  the  great  war-chief,  in  company  with 
Wenniway  was  seated  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  lodge,  my 
friend  and  brother,  Wawatam,  suddenly  came  in.  During 
the  four  days  preceding,  I  had  often  wondered  what  had 
become  of  him.  In  passing  by  he  gave  me  his  hand,  but 
went  immediately  toward  the  great  chief,  by  the  side  of  whom 
and  Wenniway,  he  sat  himself  down.  The  most  uninterrupted 
silence  prevailed ;  each  smoked  his  pipe ;  and  this  done, 
Wawatam  arose,  and  left  the  lodge,  saying  to  me,  as  he  passed, 
"  Take  courage  !" 

An  hour  elapsed,  during  which  several  chiefs  entered,  and 
preparations  appeared  to  be  making  for  a  council.  At  length, 
Wawatam  re-entered  the  lodge,  followed  by  his  wife,  and  both 
loaded  with  merchandise,  which  they  carried  up  to  the  chiefs, 
and  laid  in  a  heap  before  them.  Some  moments  of  silence 
followed,  at  the  end  of  which  Wawatam  pronounced  a  speech, 
every  word  of  which,  to  me,  was  of  extraordinary  interest: 

"  Friends  and  relations,"  he  began,  "  what  is  it  that  I  shall 
say  ?  You  know  what  I  feel  You  all  have  friends  and 
brothers  and  children,  whom  as  yourselves  you  love  ;  and  you, 
what  would  you  experience,  did  you,  like  me,  behold  your 
dearest  friend — your  brother — in  the  condition  of  a  slave; 
a  slave,  exposed  every  moment  to  insult,  and  to  menaces  of 
death?  This  case,  as  you  all  know,  is  mine.  See  there 
(pointing  to  myself)  rny  friend  and  brother  among  slaves,  him 
self  a  slave ! 

"You  all  well  know  that  long  before  the  war  began  I 
adopted  him  as  my  brother.  From  that  moment  he  became 
one  of  my  family,  so  that  no  change  of  circumstances  could 
break  the  cord  which  fastened  us  together. 

"  He  is  my  brother;  and,  because  I  am  your  relation,  he  is 
therefore  your  relation  too  : — and  how,  being  your  relation,  can 
he  be  your  slave  ? 

"  On  the  day  on  which  the  war  began,  you  were  fearful, 
lest  on  this  very  account  I  should  reveal  your  secret. 
You  requested,  therefore,  that  I  would  leave  the  fort,  and 
even  cross  the  lake.  I  did  yo,  but  did  it  with  reluctance. 


300  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

I  did  it  with  reluctance,  notwithstanding  that  you,  Meneh- 
wehna,  who  had  the  command  in  this  enterprise,  gave  me 
your  promise  that  you  would  protect  my  friend,  delivering  him 
from  all  danger,  and  giving  him  safely  to  me. 

"  The  performance  of  this  promise  I  now  claim.  I  €ome 
not  with  empty  hands  to  ask  it.  You,  Menehwehna,  best 
know  whether  or  not,  as  it  respects  yourself,  you  have  kept 
your  word,  but  I  bring  these  goods,  to  buy  off  every  claim 
which  any  man  among  you  all  may  have  on  my  brother,  as  his 
prisoner." 

Wawatam  having  ceased,  the  pipes  were  again  filled ;  and, 
after  they  were  finished,  a  further  period  of  silence  followed. 
At  the  end  of  this,  Menehwehna  arose,  and  gave  his  reply : 

"  My  relation  and  brother,"  said  he,  "  what  you  have  spoken 
is  the  truth.  We  were  acquainted  with  the  friendship  which 
subsisted  between  yourself  and  the  Englishman,  in  whose 
behalf  you  have  now  addressed  us.  We  knew  the  danger  of 
having  our  secret  discovered,  and  the  consequences  which 
must  follow;  and  you  say  truly  that  we  requested  you  to  leave 
the  fort.  This  we  did  out  of  regard  for  you  and  your  family ; 
for,  if  a  discovery  of  our  design  had  been  made,  you  would 
have  been  blamed,  whether  guilty  or  not ;  and  you  would  thus 
have  been  involved  in  difficulties  from  which  you  could  not 
have  extricated  yourself. 

"  It  is  also  true  that  I  promised  you  to  take  care  of  your 
friend  ;  and  this  promise  I  performed,  by  desiring  my  son, 
at  the  moment  of  assault,  to  seek  him  out,  and  bring  him 
to  my  lodge.  He  went  accordingly,  but  could  not  find  him. 
The  day  after  I  sent  him  to  Langlade's,  when  he  was  informed 
that  your  friend  was  safe  ;  and  had  it  not  been  that  the  Indians 
were  then  drinking  the  rum  which  had  been  found  in  the  fort, 
he  would  have  brought  him  home  with  him,  according  to  my 
orders. 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  find  that  your  friend  has  escaped.  We 
accept  your  present;  and  you  may  take  him  home  with 
you." 

Wawatam  thanked  the  assembled  chiefs,  and  taking  me  by 
the  hand,  led  me  to  his  lodge,  which  was  at  the  distance  of  a 
few  yards  only  from  the  prison-lodge.  My  entrance  appeared 
to  give  joy  to  the  whole  family;  food  was  immediately  pre 
pared  for  me  ;  and  I  now  ate  the  first  hearty  meal  which  I  had 
made  since  my  capture.  I  found  myself  one  of  the  family ; 
and  but  that  I  had  still  my  fears,  as  to  the  other  Indians,  I  felt 
as  happy  as  the  situation  could  allow. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  morning,  I  was  alarmed  by  a  noise 
in  the  prison-lodge;  and  looking  through  the  openings  of  the 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  301 

lodge  in  which  I  was,  I  saw  seven  dead  bodies  of  white  men 
dragged  forth.  Upon  my  inquiry  into  the  occasion,  I  was 
informed  that  a  certain  chief,  called  by  the  Canadians  Le  Grand 
Sable,  had  not  long  before  arrived  from  his  winter's  hunt ;  and 
that  he,  having  been  absent  when  the  war  begun,  and  being 
now  desirous  of  manifesting  to  the  Indians  at  large  his  hearty 
concurrence  in  what  they  had  done,  had  gone  into  the  prison- 
lodge,  and  there  with  his  knife  put  the  seven  men  whose  bodies 
I  had  seen  to  death. 

Shortly  after,  two  of  the  Indians  took  one  of  the  dead  bodies, 
which  they  chose  as  being  the  fattest,  cut  off  the  head,  and 
divided  the  whole  into  five  parts,  one  of  which  was  put  into 
each  of  five  kettles,  hung  over  as  many  fires  kindled  for  this 
purpose,  at  the  door  of  the  prison-lodge.  Soon  after  things 
were  so  far  prepared,  a  message  came  to  our  lodge,  with  an 
invitation  to  Wawatam  to  assist  at  the  feast. 

An  invitation  to  a  feast  is  given  by  him  who  is  the  master 
of  it.  Small  cuttings  of  cedar  wood,  of  about  four  inches  in 
length,  supply  the  place  of  cards ;  and  the  bearer  by  word  of 
mouth  states  the  particulars. 

Wawatam  obeyed  the  summons,  taking  with  him,  as  is  usual, 
to  the  place  of  entertainment,  his  dish  and  spoon. 

After  an  absence  of  about  half  an  hour,  he  returned,  bringing 
in  his  dish  a  human  hand,  and  a  large  piece  of  flesh.  He  did 
not  appear  to  relish  the  repast,  but  told  me  that  it  was  then, 
and  always  had  been  the  custom  among  all  the  Indian  nations, 
when  returning  from  war,  or  on  overcoming  their  enemies,  to 
make  a  war-feast  from  among  the  slain.  This  he  said  inspir 
ed  the  warrior  with  courage  in  attack,  and  bred  him  to  meet 
death  with  fearlessness. 

In  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  a  large  canoe,  such  as  those 
which  came  from  Montreal,  was  seen  advancing  to  the  fort. 
It  was  full  of  men,  and  I  distinguished  several  passengers. 
The  Indian  cry  was  made  in  the  village ;  a  general  muster 
ordered  ;  and  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  they  marched  up 
to  the  fort,  where  the  canoe  was  expected  to  land.  The  canoe, 
suspecting  nothing,  came  boldly  to  the  fort,  where  the  passen 
gers,  as  being  English  traders,  were  seized,  dragged  through 
the  water,  beat,  reviled,  marched  to  the  prison-lodge,  and  there 
stripped  of  their  clothes  and  confined. 

Of  the  English  traders  that  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians 
at  the  capture  of  the  fort,  Mr.  Tracy  was  the  only  one  who 
lost  his  life.  Mr.  Ezekiel  Solomons  and  Mr.  Henry  Bostwick 
were  taken  by  the  Ottawas,  and  after  the  peace  carried  down 
to  Montreal,  and  there  ransomed.  Of  ninety  troops,  about 
seventy  were  killed ;  the  rest,  together  with  those  of  the  posts 
26 


302  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

in  the  Bay  des  Puants,  and  at  the  river  Saint  Joseph,  were 
also  kept  in  safety  by  the  Ottawas  till  the  peace,  and  then  either 
freely  restored,  or  ransomed  at  Montreal.  The  Ottawas  never 
overcame  their  disgust  at  the  neglect  with  which  they  had 
been  treated,  in  the  beginning  of  the  war,  by  those  who  after 
ward  desired  their  assistance  as  allies. 

In  the  morning  of  the  ninth  of  June,  a  general  council  was 
held,  at  which  it  was  agreed  to  remove  to  the  island  of  Michi- 
limackinac,  as  a  more  defensible  situation  in  the  event  of  an 
attack  by  the  English.  The  Indians  had  begun  to  entertain 
apprehensions  of  want  of  strength.  No  news  had  reached 
them  from  the  Potawatamies,  in  the  Bay  des  Puants  ;  and  they 
were  uncertain  whether  or  not  the  Monomins^  would  join  them. 
They  even  feared  that  the  Sioux  would  take  the  English  side. 

This  resolution  fixed,  they  prepared  for  a  speedy  retreat. 
At  noon  the  camp  was  broken  up,  and  we  embarked,  taking 
with  us  the  prisoners  that  were  still  undisposed  of.  On  our 
passage  we  encountered  a  gale  of  wind,  and  there  were  some 
appearances  of  danger.  To  avert  it,  a  dog,  of  which  the  legs 
were  previously  tied  together,  was  thrown  into  the  lake ;  an 
offering  designed  to  soothe  the  angry  passions  of  some  offended 
Manito. 

As  we  approached  the  island,  two  women  in  the  canoe  in 
which  I  was  began  to  utter  melancholy  and  hideous  cries. 
Precarious  as  my  condition  still  remained,  I  experienced  some 
sensations  of  alarm  from  these  dismal  sounds,  of  which  I  could 
not  then  discover  the  occasion.  Subsequently,  I  learned  that 
it  is  customary  for  the  women,  on  passing  near  the  burial-places 
of  relations,  never  to  omit  the  practice  of  which  I  was  now  a 
witness,  and  by  which  they  intend  to  denote  their  grief. 

By  the  approach  of  evening  we  reached  the  island  in  safety, 
and  the  women  were  not  long  in  erecting  our  cabins.  In  the 
morning,  there  was  a  muster  of  the  Indians,  at  which  there 
were  found  three  hundred  and  fifty  fighting  men. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  there  arrived  a  canoe  from  Detroit, 
with  ambassadors,  who  endeavored  to  prevail  on  the  Indians 
to  repair  thither  to  the  assistance  of  Pontiac  ;  but  feaT  was  now 
the  prevailing  passion.  A  guard  was  kept  during  the  day,  and 
a  watch  by  night,  and  alarms  were  very  frequently  spread. 
Had  an  enemy  appeared,  all  the  prisoners  would  have  been  put 
to  death ;  and  I  suspected  that,  as  an  Englishman,  I  should 
share  their  fate. 

*  Manomines,  or  Malomines.    In  the  first  syllable,  the  substitution  of  I 
for  n,  and  n  for  /,  marks  one  of  the  differences  in  the  Chippe\vay  and  Al 
gonquin  dialects.     In  the  mouth  of  an  Algonquin,  it  is  Michilimackinac 
in  that  of  a  Chippeway,  Michini^iackinac. 


ALEXANDER   HENRY'S    CAPTIVITY.  303 

Several  days  had  now  passed,  when  one  morning  a  contin 
aed  alarm  prevailed,  and  I  saw  the  Indians  running  in  a  con 
fused  manner  toward  the  beach.  In  a  short  time  I  learned 
that  two  large  canoes  from  Montreal  were  in  sight. 

All  the  Indian  canoes  were  immediately  manned,  and  those 
from  Montreal  were  surrounded  and  seized,  as  they  turned  a 
point  behind  which  the  flotilla  had  been  concealed.  The  goods 
were  consigned  to  a  Mr.  Levy,  and  would  have  been  saved  if 
the  canoe  men  had  called  them  French  property ;  but  they  were 
terrified  and  disguised  nothing. 

In  the  canoes  was  a  large  proportion  of  liquor,  a  dangerous 
acquisition,  and  which  threatened  disturbance  among  the  In 
dians,  even  to  the  loss  of  their  dearest  friends.  Wawatam, 
always  watchful  of  my  safety,  no  sooner  heard  the  noise  ot 
drunkenness,  which  in  the  evening  did  not  fail  to  begin,  than 
he  represented  to  me  the  danger  of  remaining  in  the  village, 
and  owned  that  he  could  not  himself  resist  the  temptation  of 
joining  his  comrades  in  the  debauch.  That  I  might  escape  all 
mischief,  he  therefore  requested  that  I  would  accompany  him 
to  the  mountain,  where  I  was  to  remain  hidden  till  the  liquor 
should  be  drank. 

We  ascended  the  mountain  accordingly.  It  is  this  mountain 
which  constitutes  that  high  land  in  the  middle  of  the  island, 
of  which  I  have  spoken  before,  as  of  a  figure  considered  as 
resembling  a  turtle,  and  therefore  called  MichUimackinac.  It 
is  thickly  covered  with  wood,  and  very  rocky  toward  the  top. 
After  walking  more  than  half  a  mile,  we  came  to  a  large  rock, 
at  the  base  of  which  was  an  opening,  dark  within,  and  appear 
ing  to  be  the  entrance  of  a  cave. 

Here,  Wawatam  recommended  that  I  should  take  up  my 
lodging,  and  by  all  means  remain  till  he  returned. 

On  going  into  the  cave,  of  which  the  entrance  was  nearly 
ten  feet  wide,  I  found  the  further  end  to  be  rounded  in  its  shape, 
like  that  of  an  oven,  but  with  a  further  aperture,  too  small, 
however,  to  be  explored. 

After  thus  looking  around  me,  I  broke  small  branches.from 
the  trees,  and  spread  them  for  a  bed ;  then  wrapped  myself  in 
my  blanket,  and  slept  till  daybreak. 

On  awaking  I  felt  myself  incommoded  by  some  object  upon 
which  I  lay ;  and  removing  it,  found  it  to  be  a  bone.  This  1 
supposed  to  be  that  of  a  deer,  or  some  other  animal,  and  what 
might  very  naturally  be  looked  for  in  the  place  in  which  it  was ; 
but,  when  daylight  visited  my  chamber,  I  discovered,  with  some 
feelings  of  horror,  that  I  was  lying  on  nothing  less  than  a  heap 
of  human  bones  and  skulls,  which  covered  all  the  floor ! 

The  day  passed  without  the  return  of  Wawatam,  and  with 


304  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

out  food.  As  night  approached,  I  found  myself  unable  to  meet 
its  darkness  in  the  charnel-house,  which,  nevertheless,  I  had 
viewed  free  from  uneasiness  during  the  day.  I  chose,  there 
fore,  an  adjacent  bush  for  this  night's  lodging,  and  slept  under 
it  as  before ;  but  in  the  morning,  I  awoke  hungry  and  dispir 
ited,  and  almost  envying  the  dry  bones,  to  the  view  of  which  1 
returned.  At  length  the  sound  of  a  foot  reached  me,  and  my 
Indian  friend  appeared,  making  many  apologies  for  his  long 
absence,  the  cause  of  which  was  an  unfortunate  excess  in  the 
enjoyment  of  his  liquor. 

This  point  being  explained,  I  mentioned  the  extraordinary 
sight  that  had  presented  itself  in  the  cave  to  which  he  had 
commended  my  slumbers.  He  had  never  heard  of  its  existence 
before ;  and,  upon  examining  the  cave  together,  we  saw  reason 
to  believe  that  it  had  been  anciently  filled  with  human  bodies. 

On  returning  to  the  lodge,  I  experienced  a  cordial  reception 
from  the  family,  which  consisted  of  the  wife  of  my  friend,  his 
two  sons,  of  whom  the  eldest  was  married,  and  whose  wife, 
and  a  daughter  of  thirteen  years  of  age,  completed  the  list-. 

Wawatam  related  to  the  other  Indians  the  adventure  of  the 
bones.  All  of  them  expressed  surprise  at  hearing  it,  and  de 
clared  that  they  had  never  been  aware  of  the  contents  of  this 
cave  before.  After  visiting  it,  which  they  immediately  did, 
almost  every  one  offered  a  different  opinion  as  to  its  history. 

Some  advanced,  that  at  a  period  when  the  waters  overflowed 
the  land,  (an  event  which  makes  a  distinguished  figure  in  the 
history  of  their  world,)  the  inhabitants  of  this  island  had  fled 
into  the  cave,  and  been  there  drowned  ;  others,  that  those  same 
inhabitants,  when  the  Hurons  made  war  upon  them,  (as  tradi 
tion  says  they  did,)  hid  themselves  in  the  cave,  and  being 
discovered,  were  there  massacred.  For  myself,  I  am  disposed 
to  believe  that  this  cave  was  an  ancient  receptacle  of  the  bones 
of  prisoners,  sacrificed  and  devoured  at  war-feasts.  I  have 
always  observed  that  the  Indians  pay  particular  attention  to 
the  bones  of  sacrifices,  preserving  them  unbroken,  and  deposit 
ing  them  in  some  place  kept  exclusively  for  that  purpose. 

A  few  days  after  the  occurrence  of  the  incidents  recorded 
above,  Menehwehna,  whom  I  now  found  to  be  the  great  chief 
of  the  village  of  Michilimackinac,  came  to  the  lodge  of  my 
friend  ;  and  when  the  usual  ceremony  of  smoking  was  finish 
ed,  he  observed  that  Indians  were  now  daily  arriving  from 
Detroit,  some  of  whom  had  lost  relations  or  friends  in  the  war, 
and  who  would  certainly  retaliate  on  any  Englishman  they 
found  ;  upon  which  account,  his  errand  was  to  advise  that  I 
should  be  dressed  like  an  Indian,  an  expedient  whence  I  migh 
hope  to  escape  all  future  insult. 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S   CAPTIVITY.  305 

I  could  not  but  consent  to  the  proposal,  and.  the  chief  was  so 
kind  as  to  assist  my  friend  and  his  family  in  effecting  that  very 
day  the  desired  metamorphosis.  My  hair  was  cut  off,  and  my 
head  shaved,  with  the  exception  of  a  spot  on  the  crown,  of 
about  twice  the  diameter  of  a  crown -piece.  My  face  was 
painted  with  three  or  four  different  colors ;  some  parts  of  it 
red,  and  others  black.  A  shirt  was  provided  for  me,  painted 
with  vermilion,  mixed  with  grease.  A  large  collar  of  wampum 
was  put  round  my  neck,  and  another  suspended  on  my  breast. 
Both  my  arms  were  decorated  with  large  bands  of  silver  above 
the  elbow,  besides  several  smaller  ones  on  the  wrists ;  and  my 
legs  were  covered  with  mitoses^  a  kind  of  hose,  made,  as  is  the 
favorite  fashion,  of  scarlet  cloth.  Over  all,  I  was  to  wear  a 
scarlet  blanket  or  mantle,  and  on  my  head  a  large  bunch  of 
feathers.  I  parted,  not  without  some  regret,  with  the  long  hair 
which  was  natural  to  it,  and  which  I  fancied  to  be  ornamental ; 
but  the  ladies  of  the  family,  and  of  the  village  in  general,  ap 
peared  to  think  my  person  improved,  and  now  condescended  to 
call  me  handsome,  even  among  Indians. 

Protected,  in  a  great  measure,  by  this  disguise,  I  felt  myself 
more  at  liberty  than  before ;  and  the  season  being  arrived  in 
which  my  clerks,  from  the  interior,  were  to  be  expected,  and 
some  part  of  my  property,  as  I  had  a  right  to  hope,  recovered, 
I  begged  the  favor  of  Wawatam  that  he  would  enable  me  to 
pay  a  short  visit  to  Michilimackinac.  He  did  not  fail  to  com 
ply,  and  I  succeeded  in  finding  my  clerks;  but,  either  through 
the  disturbed  state  of  the  country,  as  they  represented  to  be 
the  case,  or  through  their  misconduct,  as  I  had  reason  to  think, 
I  obtained  nothing ;  and  nothing,  or  almost  nothing,  I  now 
began  to  think  would  be  all  that  I  should  need  during  the  rest 
of  my  life.  To  fish  and  to  hunt,  to  'collect  a  few  skins,  and 
exchange  them  for  necessaries,  was  all  that  I  seemed  destined 
to  do,  and  to  acquire,  for  the  future. 

I  returned  to  the  Indian  village,  where  at  this  time  much 
scarcity  of  food  prevailed.  We  were  often  for  twenty-four 
hours  without  eating ;  and  when  in  the  morning  we  had  no 
victuals  for  the  day  before  us,  the  custom  was  to  black  our 
faces  with  grease  and  charcoal,  and  exhibit,  through  resigna 
tion,  a  temper  as  cheerful  as  if  in  the  midst  of  plenty. 

A  repetition  of  the  evil,  however,  soon  induced  us  to  leave 
the  island  in  search  of  food ;  and  accordingly  we  departed  for 
the  Bay  of  Boutchitaouy,  distant  eight  leagues,  and  where 
we  found  plenty  of  wild-fow1  and  fish. 

While  in  the  bay,  my  guardian's  daughter-in-law  was  taken 
in  labor  of  her  first  child.  She  was  immediately  removed  out 
vf  the  common  lodge ;  and  a  small  one,  for  her  separate  accom- 
20 


306  ALEXANDER   HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

modation,  was  begun  and  finished  by  the  women  in  less  than 
half  an  hour. 

The  next  morning  we  heard  that  she  was  very  ill,  and  the 
family  began  to  be  much  alarmed  on  her  account ;  the  more 
so,  no  doubt,  because  cases  of  difficult  labor  are  very  rare 
among  Indian  women.  In  this  distress.  Wawatam  requested 
me  to  accompany  him  into  the  woods ;  and  on  our  way  in 
formed  me  that  if  he  could  find  a  snake,  he  should  soon  secure 
relief  to  his  daughter-in-law. 

On  reaching  some  wet  ground,  we  speedily  obtained  the 
object  of  our  search,  in  a  small  snake,  of  the  kind  called  the 
garter-snake.  Wawatam  seized  it  by  the  neck,  and,  holding 
it  fast,  while  it  coiled  itself  round  his  arm,  he  cut  off  its  head, 
catching  the  blood  in  a  cup  that  he  had  brought  with  him. 
This  done,  he  threw  away  the  snake,  and  carried  home  the 
blood,  which  he  mixed  with  a  quantity  of  water.  Of  this 
mixture  he  administered  first  one  table-spoonful,  and  shortly- 
after  a  second.  Within  an  hour  the  patient  was  safely  deli 
vered  of  a  fine  child ;  and  Wawatam  subsequently  declared 
that  the  remedy,  to  which  he  had  resorted,  was  one  that  never 
failed. 

On  the  next  day,  we  left  the  Bay  of  Boutchitaouy ;  and  the 
young  mother,  in  high  spirits,  assisted  in  loading  the  canoe, 
barefooted,  and  knee-deep  in  the  water. 

The  medical  information,  the  diseases  and  the  remedies  of 
the  Indians,  often  engaged  my  curiosity  during  the  period 
through  which  I  was  familiar  with  these  nations ;  and  1  shall 
take  this  occasion  to  introduce  a  few  particulars  connected 
with  their  history. 

The  Indians  are  in  general  free  from  disorders ;  and  an 
instance  of  their  being  subject  to  dropsy,  gout,  or  stone,  never 
came  within  my  knowledge.  Inflammations  of  the  lungs  are 
among  their  most  ordinary  complaints,  and  rheumatism  stiL 
more  so,  especially  with  the  aged.  Their  mode  of  life,  in 
which  they  are  so  much  exposed  to  the  wet  and  cold,  sleeping 
on  the  ground,  and  inhaling  the  night  air,  sufficiently  accounts 
for  their  liability  to  these  diseases.  The  remedies  on  which 
they  most  rely  are  emetics,  cathartics,  and  the  lancet ;  but 
especially  the  last.  Bleeding-  is  so  favorite  an  operation  among 
the  women  that  they  never  lose  an  occasion  of  enjoying  it, 
whether  sick  or  well.  I  have  sometimes  bled  a  dozen  women 
in  a  morning  as  they  sat  in  a  row,  along  a  fallen  tree,  begin 
ning  with  the  first,  opening  the  vein,  then  proceeding  to  the 
second,  and  so  on,  having  three  or  four  individuals  bleeding  at 
the  same  time. 

In  most  villages,  and  particularly  in  those  of  the  Chippe- 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  307 

ways,  this  service  was  required  of  me ;  and  no  persuasion  of 
mine  could  ever  induce  a  woman  to  dispense  with  it. 

In  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  among  all  the  nations  that  I 
have  seen,  particular  individuals  arrogate  to  themselves  the 
art  of  healing,  but  principally  by  means  of  pretended  sorcery ; 
and  operations  of  this  sort  are  always  paid  for  by  a  present 
made  before  they  are  begun.  Indeed,  whatever,  as  an  impostor, 
may  be  the  demerits  of  the  operator,  his  reward  may  generally 
be  said  to  be  fairly  earned  by  dint  of  corporal  labor. 

I  was  once  present  at  a  performance  of  this  kind,  in  which 
the  patient  was  a  female  child  of  about  twelve  years  of  age. 
Several  of  the  elder  chiefs  were  invited  to  the  scene ;  and  the 
same  compliment  was  paid  to  myself,  on  account  of  the  medi 
cal  skill  for  which  it  was  pleased  to  give  me  credit. 

The  physician  (so  to  call  him)  seated  himself  on  the  ground ; 
and  before  him,  on  a  new  stroud  blanket,  was  placed  a  basin 
of  water,  in  which  were  three  bones,  the  larger  ones,  as  it 
appeared  to  me,  of  a  swan's  wing.  In  his  hand  he  had  his 
shishiquoi,  or  rattle,  with  which  he  beat  time  to  his  medicine- 
song.  The  sick  child  lay  on  a  blanket,  near  the  physician. 
She  appeared  to  have  much  fever,  and  a  severe  oppression  of 
the  lungs,  breathing  with  difficulty,  and  betraying  symptoms 
of  the  last  stage  of  consumption. 

After  singing  for  some  time,  the  physician  took  one  of  the 
bones  out  of  the  basin:  the  bone  was  hollow;  and  one  end 
being  applied  to  the  breast  of  the  patient,  he  put  the  other  into 
his  mouth,  in  order  to  remove  the  disorder  by  suction.  Having 
persevered  in  this  as  long  as  he  thought  proper,  he  suddenly 
seemed  to  force  the  bone  into  his  mouth,  and  swallow  it.  He 
now  acted  the  part  of  one  suffering  severe  pain ;  but,  presently, 
finding  relief,  he  made  a  long  speech,  and  after  this  returned 
to  singing,  and  to  the  accompaniment  of  his  rattle.  With  the 
latter,  during  his  song,  he  struck  his  head,  breast,  sides,  and 
back  ;  at  the  same  time  straining,  as  if  to  vomit  forth,  the  bone. 

Relinquishing  this  attempt,  he  applied  himself  to  suction  a 
second  time,  and  with  the  second  of  the  three  bones ;  and  this 
also  he  soon  seemed  to  swallow. 

Upon  its  disappearance,  he  began  to  distort  himself  in  the 
most  frightful  manner,  using  every  gesture  which  could  convey 
the  idea  of  pain  ;  at  length  he  succeeded,  or  pretended  to  suc 
ceed,  in  throwing  up  one  of  the  bones.  This  was  handed 
about  to  the  spectators,  and  strictly  examined ;  but  nothing 
remarkable  could  be  discovered.  Upon  this,  he  went  back  to 
his  song  and  rattle ;  and  after  some  time  threw  up  the  second 
of  the  two  bones.  In  the  groove  of  this,  the  physician,  upon 
examination,  found,  and  displayed  to  all  present,  a  small  while 


308  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

substance,  resembling  a  piece  of  the  quill  of  a  feather,  It  was 
passed  round  the  company  from  one  to  the  other ;  and  declared, 
by  the  physician,  to  be  the  thing  causing  the  disorder  of  his 
patient. 

The  multitude  believe  that  these  physicians,  whom  the 
French  call  jongleurs,  or  jugglers,  can  inflict  as  well  as  remove' 
disorders.  They  believe  that  by  drawing  the  figure  of  any 
person  in  sand  or  ashes,  or  on  clay,  or  by  considering  any 
object  as  the  figure  of  a  person,  and  then  pricking  it  with  a 
sharp  stick,  or  other  substance,  or  doing,  in  any  other  manner, 
that  which  done  to  a  living  body  would  cause  pain  or  injury, 
the  individual  represented,  or  supposed  to  be  represented,  will 
suffer  accordingly.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mischief  being 
done,  another  physician,  of  equal  pretensions,  can  by  suction 
remove  it.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  operations  which  I 
have  described  were  not  successful  in  the  instance  referred  to ; 
for,  on  the  day  after  they  had  taken  place,  the  girl  died. 

With  regard  to  flesh-wounds,  the  Indians  certainly  effect 
astonishing  cures.  Here,  as  above,  much  that  is  fantastic 
occurs;  but  the  success  of  their  practice  evinces  something 
solid. 

At  the  Sault  de  Sainte-Marie  I  knew  a  man  who,  in  the 
result  of  a  quarrel,  received  the  stroke  of  an  axe  in  his  side. 
The  blow  was  so  violent,  and  the  axe  driven  so  deep,  that  the 
wretch  who  held  it  could  not  withdraw  it,  but  left  it  in  the 
wound,  and  fled.  Shortly  after,  the  man  was  found,  and 
brought  into  the  fort,  where  several  other  Indians  came  to  his 
assistance.  Among  these,  one,  who  was  a  physician,  imme 
diately  withdrew,  in  order  to  fetch  his  penegusan,  or  medicine- 
bag,  with  which  he  soon  returned.  The  eyes  of  the  sufferer 
were  fixed,  his  teeth  closed,  and  his  case  apparently  desperate. 

The  physician  took  from  his  bag  a  small  portion  of  a  very 
white  substance,  resembling  that  of  a  bone ;  this  he  scraped 
into  a  little  water,  and  forcing  open  the  jaws  of  the  patient 
with  a  stick,  he  poured  the  mixture  down  his  throat.  What 
followed  was,  that  in  a  very  short  space  of  time  the  wounded 
man  moved  his  eyes ;  and  beginning  to  vomit,  threw  up  a 
small  lump  of  clotted  blood. 

The  physician  now,  and  not  before,  examined  the  wound, 
from  which  I  could  see  the  breath  escape,  and  from  which  a 
part  of  the  omentum  depended.  This  the  physician  did  not 
set  about  to  restore  to  its  place,  but,  cutting  it  away,  minced 
it  into  small  pieces,  and  made  his  patient  swallow  it. 

The  man  was  then  carried  to  his  lodge,  where  I  visited  him 
daily.  By  the  sixth  day  he  was  able  to  walk  about;  and 
within  a  month  he  grew  quite  well,  except  that  he  was  troubled 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  309 

with  a  cough.  Twenty  years  after  his  misfortune  he  was  still 
alive. 

Another  man,  being  on  his  wintering-ground,  and  from 
home,  hunting  beaver,  was  crossing  a  lake,  covered  with 
smooth  ice,  with  two  beavers  on  his  back,  when  his  foot  slipped, 
and  he  fell.  At  his  side,  in  his  belt,  was  his  axe,  the  blade  of 
which  came  upon  the  joint  of  his  wrist ;  and,  the  weight  of 
his  body  coming  upon  the  blade,  his  hand  was  completely 
separated  from  his  arm,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  piece  of 
the  skin.  He  had  to  walk  three  miles  to  his  lodge,  which  was 
thus  far  away.  The  skin,  which  alone  retained  his  hand  to 
his  arm,  he  cut  through,  with  the  same  axe  which  had  done 
the  rest ;  and  fortunately  having  on  a  shirt,  he  took  it  off,  tore 
it  up,  and  made  a  strong  ligature  above  the  wrist,  so  as  in 
some  measure  to  avoid  the  loss  of  blood.  On  reaching  his 
lodge,  he  cured  the  wound  himself,  by  the  mere  use  of  simples. 
I  was  a  witness  to  its  perfect  healing. 

I  have  said  that  these  physicians,  .jugglers,  or  practitioners 
of  pretended  sorcery,  are  supposed  to  be  capable  of  inflicting 
diseases ;  and  I  may  add,  that  they  are  sometimes  themselves 
sufferers  on  this  account.  In  one  instance  I  saw  one  of  them 
killed,  by  a  man  who  charged  him  with  having  brought  his 
brother  to  death  by  malefic  arts.  The  accuser,  in  his  rage, 
thrust  his  knife  into  the  belly  of  the  accused,  and  ripped  it 
open.  The  latter  caught  his  bowels  in  his  arms,  and  thus 
walked  toward  his  lodge,  gathering  them  up,  from  time  to 
time,  as  they  escaped  his  hold.  His  lodge  was  at  no  con 
siderable  distance,  and  he  reached  it  alive,  and  died  in  it. 

Our  next  encampment  was  on  the  island  of  Saint-Martin, 
off  Cape  Saint-Ignace,  so  called  from  the  Jesuit  mission  of 
Saint  Ignatius  to  the  Hurons,  formerly  established  there.  Our 
object  was  to  fish  for  sturgeon,  which  we  did  with  great  suc 
cess;  and  here,  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  plentiful  and  excellent 
supply  of  food,  we  remained  until  the  twentieth  day  of  Au 
gust.  At  this  time,  the  autumn  being  at  hand,  and  a  sure 
prospect  of  increased  security  from  hostile  Indians  afforded, 
Wawatam  proposed  going  to  his  intended  wintering-ground. 
The  removal  was  a  subject  of  the  greatest  joy  to  myself,  on 
account  of  the  frequent  insults,  to  which  I  had  still  to  submit*, 
from  the  Indians  of  our  band  or  village,  and  to  escape  from 
which  I  would  freely  have  gone  almost  anywhere.  At  our 
wintering-ground  we  were  to  be  alone  ;  for  the  Indian  families, 
in  the  countries  of  which  I  write,  separate  in  the  winter 
season,  for  the  convenience  as  well  of  subsistence  as  of  the 
chase,  and  re-associate  in  the  spring  and  summer. 

In  preparation,  our  first  business  was  to  sail  for  Michili- 


40 


310  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

mackinac,  where,  being  arrived,  we  procured  from  a  Canadian 
trader,  on  credit,  some  trifling  articles,  together  with  ammuni 
tion,  and  two  bushels  of  maize.  This  done,  we  steered  di 
rectly  for  lake  Michigan.  At  L/Arbre  Croche  we  stopped  one 
day  on  a  visit  to  the  Ottawas,  where  all  the  people,  and  par 
ticularly  Okinochumaki,  the  chief,  the  same  who  took  me  from 
the  Chippeways,  behaved  with  great  civility  and  kindness. 
The  chief  presented  me  with  a  bag  of  maize.  It  is  the 
Ottawas,  it  will  be  remembered,  who  raise  this  grain  for  the 
market  of  Michilimackinac. 

Leaving  L'Arbre  Croche,  we  proceeded  direct  to  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Aux  Sables,  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  and 
distant  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  fort  Michili 
mackinac.  On  our  voyage,  we  passed  several  deep  bays  and 
rivers,  and  I  found  the  banks  of  the  lake  to  consist  in  mere 
sands,  without  any  appearance  of  verdure ;  the  sand  drifting 
from  one  hill  to  another,  like  snow  in  winter.  Hence,  all  the 
rivers,  which  here  entered  the  lake,  are  as  much  entitled  to 
the  epithet  of  sandy  as  that  to  which  we  were  bound.  They 
are  also  distinguished  by  another  particularity,  always  observa 
ble  in  similar  situations.  The  current  of  the  stream  being 
met,  when  the  wind  is  contrary,  by  the  waves  of  the  lake,  it  is 
driven  back,  and  the  sands  of  the  shore  are  at  the  same  time 
washed  into  its  mouth.  In  consequence,  the  river  is  able  to 
force  a  passage  into  the  lake,  broad  only  in  proportion  to  its 
utmost  strength ;  while  it  hollows  for  itself,  behind  the  sand 
banks,  a  basin  of  one,  two,  or  three  miles  across.  In  these 
rivers  we  killed  many  wild-fowl  and  beaver. 

To  kill  beaver,  we  used  to  go  several  miles  up  the  rivers, 
before  the  approach  of  night,  and  after  the  dusk  came  on  suffer 
the  canoe  to  drift  gently  down  the  current,  without  noise.  The 
beaver  in  this  part  of  the  evening  come  abroad  to  procure 
food,  or  materials  for  repairing  their  habitations:  and  as  they 
are  not  alarmed  by  the  canoe,  they  often  pass  it  within  gun 
shot. 

While  we  thus  hunted  along  our  way,  I  enjoyed  a  personal 
freedom  of  which  I  had  been  long  deprived,  and  became  as 
expert  in  the  Indian  pursuits  as  the  Indians  themselves. 

On  entering  the  river  Aux  Sables,  Wawatam  took  a  dog, 
tied  its  feet  together,  and  threw  it  into  the  stream,  uttering, 
at  the  same  time,  a  long  prayer,  which  he  addressed  to  the 
Great  Spirit,  supplicating  his  blessing  on  the  chase,  and  his 
aid  in  the  support  of  the  family,  through  the  dangers  of  a  long 
winter.  Our  lodge  was  fifteen  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
stream.  The  principal  animals  which  the  country  afforde-1 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  311 

were  the  stag  or  red  deer,  the  common  American  deer,  the 
bear,  raccoon,  beaver  and  marten. 

The  beaver  feeds  in  preference  on  young  wood  of  the  birch, 
aspen  and  poplar  tree,  (populus  nigra,  called  by  the  Canadians 
Hard,)  but  in  defect  of  these  on  any  other  tree,  those  of  the 
pine  and  fir  kinds  excepted.  These  latter  it  employs  only  for 
building1  its  dams  and  houses.  In  wide  meadows,  where  no 
wood  is  to  be  found,  it  resorts,  for  all  its  purposes,  to  the  roots 
of  the  rush  and  water  lily.  It  consumes  great  quantities  of 
food,  whether  of  roots  or  wood  ;  and  hence  often  reduces 
itself  to  the  necessity  of  removing  into  a  new  quarter.  Its 
house  has  an  arched  dome-like  roof,  of  an  elliptical  figure,  and 
rises  from  three  to  four  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  '.vuter. 
It  is  always  entirely  surrounded  by  water;  but,  in  the  banks 
adjacent,  the  animal  provides  holes  or  washes,  of  which  the 
entrance  is  below  the  surface,  and  to  which  it  retreats  on  the 
first  alarm. 

The  female  beaver  usually  produces  two  young  at  a  time, 
but  not  unfrpquently  more.  During  the  first  year  the  young 
remain  with  their  parents.  In  the  second  they  occupy  an 
adjoining  apartment,  and  assist  in  building,  and  in  procuring 
food.  At  two  years  old,  they  part,  and  build  houses  of  their 
own  ;  but  often  rove  about  for  a  considerable  time,  before  they 
fix  upon  a  spot.  There  are  beavers,  called  by  the  Indians  old 
bachelors,  who  live  by  themselves,  build  no  houses,  and  work 
at  no  dams,  but  shelter  themselves  in  holes.  The  usual 
method  of  taking  these  is  by  traps,  formed  of  iron,  or  logs,  and 
baited  with  branches  of  poplar. 

According  to  the  Indians,  the  beaver  is  much  given  to  jealousy. 
If  a  strange  male  approaches  the  cabin,  a  battle  immediately 
ensues.  Of  this  the  female  remains  an  unconcerned  spectator, 
careless  to  which  party  the  law  of  conquest  may  assign  her. 
Among  the  beaver  which  \ve  killed,  those  who  were  with  me 
pretended  to  show  demonstrations  of  this  fart ;  some  of  the 
skins  of  the  males,  and  almost  all  of  the  older  ones,  bearing 
marks  of  violence,  while  none  were  ever  to  be  seen  on  the 
skins  of  the  females. 

The  Indians  add,  that  the  male  is  as  constant  as  he  is  jeal 
ous,  never  attaching  himself  to  more  than  one  female ;  while 
the  female,  on  her  side,  is  always  fond  of  strangers. 

The  most   common  way  of  taking  the  beaver   is   Uiat  of 
breaking  up  its  house,  which  is  done  with  trenching-toois,  dur 
ing  the  winter,  when    the  ice  is  strong  enough   to  allow  of 
approaching  them  ;  and  when,  also,  the  fur  is  in  its  most  valu 
able  state. 

Breaking  up  the  house,  however,  is  only  a  preparatory  step 


312  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

During  this  operation,  the  family  make  their  escape  to  one  or 
more  of  their  washes.  These  are  to  be  discovered  by  striking 
the  ice  along  the  bank,  and  where  the  holes  are  a  hollow 
sound  is  returned.  After  discovering  and  searching  many  of 
these  in  vain,  we  often  found  the  whole  family  together,  in  the 
same  wash.  I  was  taught  occasionally  to  distinguish  a  full 
wash  from  an  empty  one,  by  the  motion  of  the  water  above  its 
entrance,  occasioned  by  the  breathing  of  the  animals  concealed 
in  it.  From  the  washes  they  must  be  taken  out  with  the 
hands ;  and  in  doing  this,  the  hunter  sometimes  receives 
severe  wounds  from  their  teeth.  While  a  hunter,  I  thought, 
with  the  Indians,  that  the  beaver  flesh  was  very  good ;  but 
after  that  of  the  ox  was  again  within  my  reach,  I  could  not 
relish  it.  The  tail  is  accounted  a  luxurious  morsel. 

Beavers,  say  the  Indians,  were  formerly  a  people  endowed 
with  speech,  not  less  than  with  the  other  noble  faculties  they 
possess  ;  but  the  Great  Spirit  has  taken  this  away  from  them, 
lest  they  should  grow  superior  in  understanding  to  mankind. 

The  raccoon  was  another  object  of  our  chase.  It  was  my 
practice  to  go  out  in  the  evening,  with  dogs,  accompanied  by 
the  youngest  son  of  my  guardian,  to  hunt  this  animal.  The 
raccoon  never  leaves  its  hiding-place  till  after  sunset. 

As  soon  as  a  dog  falls  on  a  fresh  track  of  the  raccoon,  he 
gives  notice  by  a  cry,  and  immediately  pursues.  His  barking 
enables  the  hunter  to  follow.  The  raccoon,  which  travels 
slowly,  and  is  soon  overtaken,  makes  for  a  tree,  on  which  he 
remains  till  shot. 

After  the  falling  of  the  snow,  nothing  more  is  necessary,  for 
taking  the  raccoon,  than  to  follow  the  track  of  his  feet.  In 
this  season,  he  seldom  leaves  his  habitation ;  and  he  never 
lays  up  any  food.  I  have  found  six  at  a  time,  in  the  hollow 
of  one  tree,  lying  upon  each  other,  and  nearly  in  a  torpid  state. 
In  more  than  one  instance,  I  have  ascertained  that  they  have 
lived  six  weeks  without  food.  The  mouse  is  their  principal 
prey. 

Raccoon  hunting  was  my  more  particular  and  daily  employ. 
I  usually  went  out  at  the  first  dawn  of  day,  and  seldom  returned 
till  sunset,  or  till  I  had  laden  myself  with  as  many  animals  as 
I  could  carry.  By  degrees  I  became  familiarized  with  this 
kind  of  life  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  idea,  of  which  I'could 
not  dyest  my  mind,  that  I  was  living  among  savages,  and  for 
the  wnispers  of  a  lingering  hope,  that  I  should  one  day  be 
released  from  it — or  if  I  could  have  forgotten  that  I  had  ever 
been  otherwise  than  as  I  then  was — I  could  have  enjoyed  as 
much  happiness  in  this  as  in  any  other  situation. 

One  evening,  on  my  return  from  hunting,  I  found  the  fire 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  313 

put  out,  and  the  opening  in  the  top  of  the  lodge  covered  over 
with  skins ;  by  this  means  excluding,  as  much  as  possible, 
external  light.  I  further  observed  that  the  ashes  were  remov 
ed  from  the  fire-place,  and  that  dry  sand  was  spread  where 
they  had  been.  Soon  after,  a  fire  was  made  withoutside  the 
cabin,  in  the  open  air,  and  a  kettle  hung  over  it  to  boil. 

I  now  supposed  that  a  feast  was  in  preparation.  I  supposed 
so  only,  for  it  would  have  been  indecorous  to  inquire  into 
the  meaning  of  what  I  saw.  No  person,  among  the  Indians 
themselves,  would  use  this  freedom.  Good  breeding  requires 
that  the  spectator  should  patiently  wait  the  result. 

As  soon  as  the  darkness  of  night  had  arrived,  the  family, 
including  myself,  were  invited  into  the  lodge.  I  was  now 
requested  not  to  speak,  as  a  feast  was  about  to  be  given  to  the 
dead,  whose  spirits  delight  in  uninterrupted  silence. 

As  we  entered,  each  was  presented  with  his  wooden  dish 
and  spoon,  after  receiving  which  we  seated  ourselves.  The 
door  was  next  shut,  and  we  remained  in  perfect  darkness. 

The  master  of  the  family  was  the  master  of  the  feast.  Still 
in  the  dark,  he  asked  every  one,  by  turn,  for  his  dish,  and  put 
into  each  two  boiled  ears  of  maize.  The  whole  being  served, 
he  began  to  speak.  In  his  discourse,  which  lasted  half  an 
hour,  he  called  upon  the  manes  of  his  deceased  relations  and 
friends,  beseeching  them  to  be  present,  to  assist  him  in  the 
chase,  and  to  partake  of  the  food  which  he  had  prepared  for 
them.  When  he  had  ended,  we  proceeded  to  eat  our  maize, 
which  we  did  without  other  noise  than  what  was  occasioned 
by  our  teeth.  The  maize  was  not  half  boiled,  and  it  took  me 
an  hour  to  consume  my  share.  I  was  requested  not  to  break 
the  spikes,  [cob,]  as  this  would  be  displeasing  to  the  departed 
spirits  of  their  friends. 

When  all  was  eaten,  Wawatam  made  another  speech,  with 
which  the  ceremony  ended.  A  new  fire  was  kindled,  with 
fresh  sparks,  from  flint  and  steel ;  and  the  pipes  being  smoked, 
the  spikes  were  carefully  buried,  in  a  hole  made  in  the  ground 
for  that  purpose,  within  the  lodge.  This  done,  the  whole 
family  began  a  dance,  Wawatam  singing,  and  beating  a  drum. 
The  dance  continued  the  greater  part  of  the  night,  to  the 
great  pleasure  of  the  lodge.  The  night  of  the  feast  was  that 
of  the  first  day  of  November. 

On  the  twentieth  of  December,  we  took  an  account  of  the 
produce  of  our  hunt,  and  found  that  we  had  a  hundred  beaver 
skins,  as  many  raccoons,  and   a  large  quantity  of  dried  veni 
son  ;  all  which  was  secured  from  the  wolves,  by  being  placed 
upon  a  scaffold. 

A  hunting  excursion,  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  was 
27 


314  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

resolved  on ;  and  early  the  next  morning  the  bundles  were 
made  up  by  the  women  for  each  person  to  carry.  I  remarked 
that  the  bundle  given  to  me  was  the  lightest,  and  those  carried 
by  the  women  the  largest  and  heaviest  of  the  whole. 

On  the  first  day  of  our  march,  we  advanced  about  twenty 
miles,  and  then  encamped.  Being  somewhat  fatigued,  I  could 
not  hunt ;  but  Wawatam  killed  a  stag,  not  far  from  our  en 
campment.  The  next  morning  we  moved  our  lodge  to  the 
carcass.  At  this  station  we  remained  two  days,  employed  in 
drying  the  meat.  The  method  was  to  cut  it  into  slices,  of  the 
thickness  of  a  steak,  and  then  hang  it  over  the  fire  in  the 
smoke.  On  the  third  day  we  removed,  and  marched  till  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

While  the  women  were  busy  in  erecting  and  preparing  the 
lodges,  I  took  my  gun  and  strolled  away,  telling  Wawatam 
that  I  intended  to  look  out  for  some  fresh  meat  for  supper.  He 
answered,  that  he  would  do  the  same  ;  and  on  this  we  both 
left  the  encampment,  in  different  directions. 

The  sun  being  visible,  I  entertained  no  fear  of  losing  my 
way ;  but  in  following  several  tracks  of  animals,  in  moment 
ary  expectation  of  falling  in  with  the  game,  I  proceeded  to  a 
considerable  distance,  and  it  was  not  till  near  sunset  that  I 
thought  of  returning.  The  sky,  too,  had  become  overcast,  and 
I  was  therefore  left  without  the  sun  for  my  guide.  In  this  situ 
ation,  I  walked  as  fast  as  I  could,  always  supposing  myself  to 
be  approaching  our  encampment,  till  at  length  it  became  so 
dark  that  I  ran  against  the  trees. 

I  became  convinced  that  I  was  lost ;  and  I  was  alarmed  by 
the  reflection  that  I  was  in  a  country  entirely  strange  to  me, 
and  in  danger  from  strange  Indians.  With  the  flint  of  my 
gun  I  made  a  fire,  and  then  laid  me  down  to  sleep.  In  the 
night,  it  rained  hard.  I  awoke  cold  and  wet ;  and  as  soon  as 
light  appeared,  I  recommenced  my  journey,  sometimes  walk 
ing  and  sometimes  running,  unknowing  where  to  go,  bewil 
dered,  and  like  a  madman. 

Toward  evening,  I  reached  the  border  of  a  large  lake,  of 
which  I  could  scarcely  discern  the  opposite  shore.  I  had 
never  heard  of  a  lake  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  there 
fore  felt  myself  removed  further  than  ever  from  the  object  of 
my  pursuit.  To  tread  back  my  steps  appeared  to  be  the  most 
likely  means  of  delivering  myself;  and  I  accordingly  deter 
mined  to  turn  my  face  directly  from  the  lake,  and  keep  this 
direction  as  nearly  as  I  could. 

A  heavy  snow  began  to  descend,  and  night  soon  afterward 
came  on.  On  this,  I  stopped  and  made  a  fire ;  and  stripping 
a  tree  of  its  sheet  of  bark,  lay  down  under  it  to  shelter  me  from 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  316 

the  snow.  All  night,  at  small  distances,  the  wolves  howled 
around,  and  to  me  seemed  to  be  acquainted  with  my  misfor 
tune. 

Amid  thoughts  the  most  distracted,  I  was  able  at  length  to 
fall  asleep  ;  but  it  was  not  long  before  I  awoke,  refreshed,  and 
wondering  at  the  terror  to  which  I  had  yielded  myself.  That 
I  could  really  have  wanted  the  means  of  recovering  my  way, 
appeared  to  me  almost  incredible,  and  the  recollection  of  it 
like  a  dream,  or  as  a  circumstance  which  must  have  proceeded 
from  the  loss  of  my  senses.  Had  this  not  happened,  I  could 
never,  as  I  now  thought,  have  suffered  so  long,  without  calling 
to  mind  the  lessons  which  I  had  received  from  my  Indian 
friend,  for  the  very  purpose  of  being  useful  to  me  in  difficul 
ties  of  this  kind.  These  were,  that,  generally  speaking,  the 
tops  of  pine  trees  lean  toward  the  rising  of  the  sun ;  that  moss 
grows  toward  the  roots  of  trees  on  the  side  which  faces  the 
north  ;  and  that  the  limbs  of  trees  are  most  numerous,  and  larg 
est,  on  that  which  faces  the  south. 

Determined  to  direct  my  feet  by  these  marks,  and  persuaded 
that  I  should  thus,  sooner  or  later,  reach  lake  Michigan,  which 
I  reckoned  to  be  distant  about  sixty  miles,  I  began  my  march 
at  break  of  day.  I  had  not  taken,  nor  wished  to  take,  any 
nourishment  since  I  left  the  encampment ;  I  had  with  me  my 
gun  and  ammunition,  and  was  therefore  under  no  anxiety  in 
regard  to  food.  The  snow  lay  about  half  a  foot  in  depth. 

My  eyes  were  now  employed  upon  the  trees.  Wnen  their 
tops  leaned  different  ways,  I  looked  to  the  moss,  or  to  the 
branches ;  and  by  connecting  one  with  another,  I  found  the 
means  of  travelling  with  some  degree  of  confidence.  At  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  sun,  to  my  inexpressible  joy,  broke 
from,  the  clouds,  arid  I  had  now  no  further  need  of  examining 
the  trees. 

In  going  down  the  side  of  a  lofty  hill,  I  saw  a  herd  of  red 
deer  approaching.  Desirous  of  killing  one  of  them  for  food, 
I  hid  myself  in  the  bushes,  and  on  a  large  one  coming  near, 
presented  my  piece,  which  missed  fire,  on  account  of  the  prim 
ing  having  been  wetted.  The  animals  walked  along,  without 
taking  the  least  alarm;  and,  having  reloaded  my  gun,  I  fol 
lowed  them,  and  presented  a  second  time.  But  now  a  disaster 
of  the  heaviest  kind  had  befallen  me ;  for,  on  attempting  to 
fire,  I  found  that  I  had  lost  the  cock.  I  had  previously  lost 
the  screw  by  which  it  was  fastened  to  the  lock ;  arid  to  prevent 
this  from  beinsf  lost  also,  I  had  tied  it  in  its  place,  with  a  lea 
ther  string.  The  lock,  to  prevent  its  catching  in  the  boughs, 
I  had  carried  under  my  molton  coat. 

Of  all  the  sufferings  which  I  had  experienced,  this  seemed 


316  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

to  me  the  most  severe.  I  was  in  a  strange  country,  and  knew 
not  how  far  I  had  to  go.  I  had  been  three  days  without  food; 
I  was  now  without  the  means  of  procuring  myself  either  food 
or  fire.  Despair  had  almost  overpowered  me ;  but  I  soon  re 
signed  myself  into  the  hands  of  that  Providence,  whose  arm 
had  so  often  saved  me,  and  returned  on  my  track,  in  search  of 
what  I  had  lost.  My  search  was  in  vain,  and  I  resumed  my 
course,  wet,  cold  and  hungry,  and  almost  without  clothing. 

The  sun  was  setting  fast,  when  I  descended  a  hill,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  was  a  small  lake,  entirely  frozen  over.  On 
drawing  near,  I  saw  a  beaver  lodge  in  the  middle,  offering 
some  faint  prospect  of  food;  but  I  found  it  already  broken  up. 
While  I  looked  at  it,  it  suddenly  occurred  to  me  that  I  had 
seen  it  before ;  and  turning  my  eyes  round  the  place,  I  dis 
covered  a  small  tree  which  I  had  myself  cut  down,  in  the 
autumn,  when,  in  company  with  my  friends,  I  had  taken  the 
beaver.  I  was  no  longer  at  a  loss,  but  knew  both  the  distance 
and  the  route  to  the  encampment.  The  latter  was  only  to  fol 
low  the  course  of  a  small  stream  of  water,  which  ran  from  the 
encampment  to  the  lake  on  which  I  stood.  An  hour  before,  I 
had  thought  myself  the  most  miserable  of  men  ;  and  now  I 
leaped  for  joy,  and  called  myself  the  happiest. 

The  whole  of  the  night,  and  through  all  the  succeeding  day, 
I  walked  up  the  rivulet,  and  at  sunset  reached  the  encampment 
where  I  was  received  with  the  warmest  expressions  of  pleasure 
by  the  family,  by  whom  I  had  been  given  up  for  lost,  after  a 
long  and  vain  search  for  me  in  the  woods. 

Some  days  elapsed,  during  which  I  rested  myself,  and  re 
cruited  my  strength;  after  this,  I  resumed  the  chase,  secure 
that,  as  the  snow  had  now  fallen,  I  could  always  return  by  the 
way  I  went. 

In  the  course  of  the  month  of  January,  I  happened  to  ob 
serve  that  the  trunk  of  a  very  large  pine  tree  was  much  torn 
by  the  claws  of  a  bear,  made  both  in  going  up  and  down.  On 
further  examination,  I  saw  that  there  was  a  large  opening  in 
the  upper  part,  near  which  the  smaller  branches  were  broken. 
From  these  marks,  and  from  the  additional  circumstance  that 
there  were  no  tracks  on  the  snow,  there  was  reason  to  believe 
that  a  bear  lay  concealed  in  the  tree. 

On  returning  to  the  lodge,  I  communicated  my  discovery ; 
and  it  was  agreed  that  all  the  'family  should  go  together  in  the 
morning,  to  assist  in  cutting  down  the  tree,  the  girth  of  which 
was  not  less  than  three  fathom.  The  women  at  first  opposed 
the  undertaking,  because  our  axes,  being  only  of  a  pound  and 
a  half  weight,  were  not  well  adapted  to  so  heavy  a  labor ;  but 
the  hope  of  finding  a  large  bear,  and  obtaining  from  its  fat  a 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  317 

great  quantity  of  oil,  an  article  at  the  time  much  wanted,  at 
length  prevailed. 

Accordingly,  in  the  morning,  we  surrounded  the  tree,  both 
men  ana  women,  as  many  at  a  time  as  could  conveniently  work 
at  it ;  and  here  we  toiled  like  beaver  till  the  sun  went  down. 
This  day's  work  carried  us  about  half  way  through  the  trunk ; 
and  the  next  morning  we  renewed  the  attack,  continuing  it  till 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  tree  fell  to  the 
ground.  For  a  few  minutes,  everything  remained  quiet,  and  I 
feared  that  all  our  expectations  were  disappointed ;  but  as  I 
advanced  to  the  opening,  there  came  out,  to  the  great  satisfac 
tion  of  all  our  party,  a  bear  of  extraordinary  size,  which,  before 
she  had  proceeded  many  yards,  I  shot. 

The  bear  being  dead,  all  my  assistants  approached,  and  all, 
but  more  particularly  my  old  mother,  (as  I  was  wont  to  call 
her,)  took  his  head  in  their  hands,  stroking  and  kissing  it  seve 
ral  times  ;  begging  a  thousand  pardons  for  taking  away  her 
life  ;  calling  her  their  relation  and  grandmother ;  and  request 
ing  her  not  to  lay  the  fault  upon  them,  since  it  was  truly  an 
Englishman  that  had  put  her  to  death. 

This  ceremony  was  not  of  long  duration ;  and  if  it  was  I 
that  killed  their  grandmother,  they  were  not  themselves  behind 
hand  in  what  remained  to  be  performed.  The  skin  being  taken 
off,  we  found  the  fat  in  several  places  six  inches  deep.  This, 
being  divided  into  two  parts,  loaded  two  persons  ;  and  the  flesh 
parts  were  as  much  as  four  persons  could  carry.  In  all,  the 
carcass  must  have  exceeded  five  hundred  weight. 

As  soon  as  we  reached  the  lodge,  the  bear's  head  was  adorn 
ed  with  all  the  trinkets  in  the  possession  of  the  family,  such 
as  silver  arm-bands  and  wrist-bands,  and  belts  of  wampum, 
and  then  laid  upon  a  scaffold,  set  up  for  its  reception,  within 
the  lodge.  Near  the  nose  was  placed  a  large  quantity  of  to 
bacco. 

The  next  morning  no  sooner  appeared  than  preparations 
were  made  for  a  feast  to  the  manes.  The  lodge  was  cleaned 
and  swept ;  and  the  head  of  the  bear  lifted  up,  and  a  new  stroud 
blanket,  which  had  never  been  used  before,  spread  under  it. 
The  pipes  were  now  lit ;  and  Wawatam  blew  tobacco  smoke 
into  the  nostrils  of  the  bear,  telling  me  to  do  the  same,  and 
thus  appease  the  anger  of  the  bear,  on  account  of  my  having 
killed  her.  I  endeavored  to  'persuade  my  benefactor  and 
friendly  adviser  that  she  no  longer  had  any  life,  and  assured 
him  that  I  was  under  no  apprehension  from  her  displeasure ; 
but  the  first  proposition  obtained  no  credit,  and  the  second  gave 
but  little  satisfaction. 

At  length,  the  feast  being  ready,  Wawatam  commenced  a 
27* 


318  ALEXANDER   HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

speech,  resembling  in  many  things  his  address  to  the  manes 
of  his  relations  and  departed  companions ;  but  having  this 
peculiarity,  that  he  here  deplored  the  necessity  under  which 
men  labored  thus  to  destroy  their  friends.  He  represented, 
however,  that  the  misfortune  was  unavoidable,  since  without 
doing  so  they  could  by  no  means  subsist.  The  speech  ended, 
we  all  ate  heartily  of  the  bear's  flesh  ;  and  even  the  head  itself, 
after  remaining  three  days  on  the  scaffold,  was  put  into  the 
kettle. 

It  is  only  the  female  bear  that  makes  her  winter  lodging  in 
the  upper  parts  of  trees,  a  practice  by  which  her  young  are 
secured  from  the  attacks  of  wolves  and  other  animals.  She 
brings  forth  in  the  winter  season  ;  and  remains  in  her  lodge 
till  the  cubs  have  gained  some  strength. 

The  male  always  lodges  in  the  ground,  under  the  roots  of 
trc.es.  He  takes  to  this  habitation  as  soon  as  the  snow  falls, 
and  remains  there  till  it  has  disappeared.  The  Indians  remark 
that  the  bear  comes  out  in  the  spring  with  the  same  fat  which 
he  carried  in  in  the  autumn,  but  after  exercise  of  only  a  few 
days  becomes  lean.  Excepting  for  a  short  part  of  the  season, 
the  male  lives  constantly  alone. 

The  fat  of  our  bear  was  melted  down,  and  the  oil  filled  six 
porcupine  skins.  A  part  of  the  meat  was  cut  into  strips  ana 
fire-dried,  after  which  it  was  put  into  the  vessels  containing  the 
oil,  where  it  remained  in  perfect  preservation  until  the  middle 
of  summer. 

February,  in  the  country  and  by  the  people  where  and  among 
whom  I  was,  is  called  the  Moon  of  Hard  or  Crusted  Snow; 
for  now  the  snow  can  bear  a  man,  or  at  least  dogs,  in  pursuit 
of  animals  of  the  chase.  At  this  season,  the  stag  is  very  suc 
cessfully  hunted,  his  feet  breaking  through  at  every  step,  and 
the  crust  upon  the  snow  cutting  his  legs  with  its  sharp  edges 
to  the  very  bone.  He  is  consequently,  in  this  distress,  an  easy 
prey ;  and  it  frequently  happened  that  \ve  killed  twelve  in  the 
short  space  of  two  hours.  By  this  means  we  were  soon  put 
into  possession  of  four  thousand  weight  of  dried  venison,  which 
was  to  be  carried  on  our  backs,  along  with  all  the  rest  of  our 
wealth,  for  seventy  miles,  the  distance  of  our  encampment 
from  that  part  of  the  lake  shore  at  which  in  the  autumn  we 
left  our  canoes.  This  journey  it  was  our  next  business  to  per 
form. 

Our  venison  and  furs  and  peltries  were  to  be  disposed  of  at 
Michilimackinac,  and  it  was  now  the  season  for  carrying  them 
to  market.  The  women  therefore  prepared  our  loads ;  and 
the  morning  of  departure  being  come,  we  set  off  at  daybreak, 
and  continued  our  murch  till  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 


ALEXANDER   HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  319 

Where  we  stopped  we  erected  a  scaffold,  on  which  we  depo 
sited  the  bundles  we  had  brought,  and  returned  to  our  encamp 
ment,  which  we  reached  in  the  evening.  In  the  morning,  we 
carried  fresh  loads,  which  being  deposited  with  the  rest,  we 
returned  a  second  time  in  the  evening.  This  we  repeated,  till 
all  was  forwarded  one  stage.  Then,  removing  our  lodge  to 
the  place  of  deposit,  we  carried  our  goods,  with  the  same  patient 
toil,  a  second  stage ;  and  so  on,  till  we  were  at  no  great  dis 
tance  from  the  shores  of  the  lake. 

Arrived  here,  we  turned  our  attention  to  sugar-making,  the 
management  of  which,  as  I  have  before  related,  belongs  to  the 
women,  the  men  cutting  wood  for  the  fires,  and  hunting  and 
fishing.  In  the  midst  of  this,  we  were  joined  by  several  lodges 
of  Indians,  most  of  whom  were  of  the  family  to  which  I  be 
longed,  and  had  wintered  near  us.  The  lands  belonged  to  thi? 
family,  and  it  had  therefore  the  exclusive  right  to  hunt  orx 
them.  This  is  {iccording  to  the  custom  of  the  people ;  for 
each  family  has  its  own  lands.  I  was  treated  very  civilly  by 
all  the  lodges. 

Our  society  had  been  a  short  time  enlarged  by  this  arrival 
of  our  friends,  when  an  accident  occurred  which  filled  all  the 
village  with  anxiety  and  sorrow.  A  little  child,  belonging  to 
one  of  our  neighbors,  fell  into  a  kettle  of  boiling  syrup.  It 
was  instantly  snatched  out,  but  with  little  hope  of  its  recovery. 

So  long,  however,  as  it  lived,  a  continual  feast  was  observed  ; 
and  this  was  made  to  the  Great  Spirit  and  Master  of  Life,  that 
he  might  be  pleased  to  save  and  heal  the  child.  At  this  feast 
I  was  a  constant  guest ;  and  often  found  difficulty  in  eating 
the  large  quantity  of  food  which,  on  such  occasions  as  these, 
is  put  upon  each  man's  dish.  The  Indians  accustom  them 
selves  both  to  eat  much  and  to  fast  much  with  facility. 

Several  sacrifices  were  also  offered  ;  among  which  were 
dogs,  killed  and  hung  upon  the  tops  of  poles,  with  the  addition 
of  stroud  blankets  and  other  articles.  These  also  were  given 
to  the  Great  Spirit,  in  humble  hope  that  he  would  give  efficacy 
to  the  medicines  employed. 

The  child  died.  To  preserve  the  body  from  the  wolves,  it 
was  placed  upon  a  scaffold,  where  it  remained  till  we  went  to 
the  lake,  on  the  border  of  which  was  the  burial-ground  of  the 
family. 

On  our  arrival  there,  which  happened  in  the  beginning  of 
April,  I  did  not  fail  to  attend  the  funeral.  The  grave  was 
made  of  a  large  size,  and  the  whole  of  the  inside  lined  with 
birch  bark.  On  the  bark  was  laid  the  body  of  the  child,  ac 
companied  with  an  axe,  a  pair  of  snow-shoes,  a  small  kettle, 
several  pairs  of  common  shoes,  its  own  strings  of  beads,  and, 


320  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

because  it  was  a  girl,  a  carrying-belt  and  a  paddle.     The  ket 
tle  was  filled  with  meat. 

All  this  was  again  covered  with  bark  ;  and  at  about  two  feet 
nearer  the  surface,  logs  were  laid  across,  and  these  again  cov 
ered  with  bark,  so  that  the  earih  might  by  no  means  fall  upon 
the  corpse. 

The  last  act  before  the  burial  performed  by  the  mother, 
crying  over  the  dead  body  of  her  child,  was  that  of  taking 
from  it  a  lock  of  hair  for  a  memorial.  While  she  did  this  I 
endeavored  to  console  her,  by  offering  the  usual  arguments : 
that  the  child  was  happy  in  being  released  from  the  miseries  of 
this  present  life,  and  that  she  should  forbear  to  grieve,  because 
it  would  be  restored  to  her  in  another  world,  happy  and  ever 
lasting.  She  answered  that  she  knew  it,  and  that  by  the  lock 
of  hair  she  should  discover  her  daughter,  for  she  would  take 
it  with  her.  In  this  she  alluded  to  the  day  when  some  pious 
hand  would  place  in  her  own  grave,  along  with  the  carrying- 
belt  and  paddle,  this  little  relic,  hallowed  by  maternal  tears. 

I  have  frequently  inquired  into  the  ideas  and  opinions  of 
the  Indians  in  regard  to  futurity,  and  always  found  that  they 
were  somewhat  different  in  different  individuals. 

Some  suppose  their  souls  to  remain  in  this  world,  although 
invisible  to  human  eyes ;  and  capable,  themselves,  of  seeing 
and  hearing  their  friends,  and  also  of  assisting  them,  in  mo 
ments  of  distress  and  danger. 

Others  dismiss  from  the  mortal  scene  the  unembodied  spirit, 
and  send  it  to  a  distant  world  or  country,  in  which  it  receives 
reward  or  punishment,  according  to  the  life  which  it  has  led 
in  its  prior  state.  Those  who  have  lived  virtuously  are  trans 
ported  into  a  place  abounding  with  every  luxury,  with  deer 
and  all  other  animals  of  the  woods  and  water,  and  where  the 
earth  produces,  in  their  greatest  perfection,  all  its  sweetest 
fruits.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  have  violated  or 
neglected  the  duties  of  this  life,  are  removed  to  a  barren  soil, 
where  they  wander  up  and  down,  among  rocks  and  morasses, 
and  are  stung  by  gnats  as  large  as  pigeons. 

While  we  remained  on  the  border  of  the  lake  a  watch  was 
kept  every  night,  in  the  apprehension  of  a  speedy  attack  from 
the  English,  who  were  expected  to  avenge  the  massacre  of 
Michilirnackinac.  The  immediate  grounds  of  this  apprehen 
sion  were  the  constant  dreams,  to  this  effect,  of  the  more  aged 
women.  I  endeavored  to  persuade  them  that  nothing  of  the 
kind  would  take  place  ;  but  their  fears  were  not  to  be  subdued. 

Amid  these  alarms,  there  came  a  report  concerning  a  real 
though  less  formidable  enemy  discovered  in  our  neighborhood 
This  was  a  panther,  which  one  of  our  young  men  had  seen, 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  321 

and  vrhich  animal  sometimes  attacks  and  carries  away  the 
Indian  children.  Our  camp  was  immediately  on  the  alert,  and 
we  set  off  into  the  woods,  about  twenty  in  number.  We  had 
not  proceeded  more  than  a  mile  before  the  dogs  found  the  pan 
ther,  and  pursued  him  to  a  tree,  on  which  he  was  shot.  He 
was  of  a  large  size. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  April  we  embarked  for  Michilimacki> 
nac.  At  La  Grande  Traverse  we  met  a  large  party  of  Indians, 
who  appeared  to  labor,  like  ourselves,  under  considerable 
alarm ;  and  who  dared  proceed  no  further,  lest  they  should  be 
destroyed  by  the  English.  Frequent  councils  of  the  united 
bands  were  held ;  and  interrogations  were  continually  put  to 
myself  as  to  whether  or  not  I  knew  of  any  design  to  attack 
them.  I  found  that  they  believed  it  possible  for, me  to  have  a 
foreknowledge  of  events,  and  to  be  informed  by  dreams  of  all 
things  doing  at  a  distance. 

Protestations  of  my  ignorance  were  received  with  but  little 
satisfaction,  and  incurred  the  suspicion  of  a  design  to  conceal 
my  knowledge.  On  this  account,  therefore,  or  because  I  saw 
them  tormented  with  fears  which  had  nothing  but  imagination 
to  rest  upon,  I  told  them,  at  length,  that  I  knew  there  was  no 
enemy  to  insult  them ;  and  that  they  might  proceed  to  Michili- 
mackinac  without  danger  from  the  English.  I  further,  and 
with  more  confidence,  declared  that  if  ever  my  countrymen 
returned  to  Michilimackinac  I  would  recommend  them  to  their 
favor,  on  account  of  the  good  treatment  which  I  had  received 
from  them.  Thus  encouraged,  they  embarked  at  an  early  hour 
the  next  morning.  In  crossing  the  bay  we  experienced  a  storm 
of  thunder  and  lightning. 

Our  port  was  the  village  of  L'Arbre  Croche,  which  we 
reached  in  safety,  and  where  we  staid  till  the  following  day. 
At  this  village  we  found  several  persons  who  had  been  lately 
at  Michilimackinac,  and  from  them  we  had  the  satisfaction  of 
learning  that  all  was  quiet  there.  The  remainder  of  our  voy 
age  was  therefore  performed  with  confidence. 

In  the  evening  of  the  twenty-seventh  we  landed  at  the  fort, 
which  now  contained  only  two  French  traders.  The  Indians 
who  had  arrived  before  us  were  very  few  in  number ;  and  by 
all,  who  were  of  our  party,  I  was  used  very  kindly.  I  had 
the  entire  freedom  both  of  the  fort  and  camp. 

Wawatam  and  myself  settled  our  stock,  and  paid  our  debts  ; 
and  this  done,  I  found  that  my  share  of  what  was  left  consisted 
in  a  hundred  beaver-skins,  sixty  raccoon-skins,  and  six  otter, 
of  the  total  value  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars. 
With  these  earnings  of  my  winter's  toil  I  proposed  to  purchase 
clothes,  of  which  I  was  much  in  need,  having  been  six  months 
21 


322  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

without  a  shirt ;  but,  on  inquiring  into  the  prices  of  goods,  J 
found  that  all  my  funds  would  not  go  far.  I  was  able,  how 
ever,  to  buy  two  shirts,  at  ten  pounds  of  beaver  each  ;  a  pair 
of  leggins,  or  pantaloons,  of  scarlet  cloth,  which,  with  the 
ribbon  to  garnish  them  fashionably,  cost  me  fifteen  pounds  of 
beaver  ;  a  blanket,  at  twenty  pounds  of  beaver ;  and  some  other 
articles,  at  proportionable  rates.  In  this  manner  my  wealth 
was  soon  reduced  ;  but  not  before  I  had  laid  in  a  good  stock  of 
ammunition 'and  tobacco.  To  the  use  of  the  latter  I  had  be 
come  much  attached  during  the  winter.  It  was  my  principal 
recreation  after  returning  from  the  chase ;  for  my  companions 
in  the  lodge  were  unaccustomed  to  pass  the  time  in  conversa 
tion.  Among  the  Indians  the  topics  of  conversation  are  but 
few,  and  limited,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  transactions  of  the 
day,  the  number  of  animals  which  they  have  killed,  and  of 
those  which  have  escaped  their  pursuit,  and  other  incidents  of 
the  chase.  Indeed,  the  causes  of  taciturnity  among  the  Indians 
may  be  easily  understood,  if  we  consider  how  many  occasions 
of  speech,  which  present  themselves  to  us,  are  utterly  unknown 
to  them  :  the  records  of  history,  the  pursuits  of  science,  the 
disquisitions  of  philosophy,  the  systems  of  politics,  the  busi 
ness  and  the  amusements  of  the  day,  and  the  transactions  of 
the  four  corners  of  the  world. 

Eight  days  had  passed  in  tranquillity,  when  there  arrived  a 
band  of  Indians  from  the  Bay  of  Saguenaum.  They  had 
assisted  at  the  siege  of  Detroit,  and  came  to  muster  as  many 
recruits  for  that  service  as  they  could.  For  my  own  part,  I 
was  soon  informed  that,  as  I  was  the  only  Englishman  in  the 
place,  they  proposed  to  kill  me,  in  order  to  give  their  friends 
a  mess  of  English  broth  to  raise  their  courage. 

This  intelligence  was  not  of  the  most  agreeable  kind  ;  and 
in  consequence  of  receiving  it,  I  requested  my  friend  to  carry 
me  to  the  Sault  de  Sainte-Marie,  at  which  place  I  knew  the 
Indians  to  be  peaceably  inclined,  and  that  M.  Cadotte  enjoyed 
a  powerful  influence  over  their  conduct.  They  considered  M. 
Cadotte  as  their  chief;  and  he  was  not  only  rny  friend,  but  a 
friend  to  the  English.  It  was  by  him  that  the  Chippeways  of 
lake  Superior  were  prevented  from  joining  Pontiac. 

Wawatam  was  not  slow  to  exert  himself  for  my  preserva 
tion,  but,  leaving  Michilimackinac  in  the  night,  transported 
myself  and  all  his  lodge  to  Point  Saint-Ignace,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  strait.  Here  we  remained  till  daylight,  and  then 
went  into  the  Bay  of  Boutchitaouy,  in  which  we  spent  three 
days  in  fishing  and  hunting,  and  where  we  found  plenty  of 
wild-fowl.  Leaving  the  bay,  we  made  for  the  Isle  aux  Ou- 
tardes,  where  we  were  obliged  to  put  in,  on  account  of  the 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  323 

wind's  coming  ahead.  We  proposed  sailing  for  the  Sault  the 
next  morning. 

But  when  the  morning  came,  Wawatam's  wife  complained 
that  she  was  sick,  adding,  that  she  had  had  had  dreams,  and 
knew  that  if  we  went  to  the  Sault  we  should  all  be  destroyed. 
To  have  argued,  at  this  time,  against  the  infallibility  of  d -earns, 
would  have  been  extremely  unadvisable,  since  I  should  have 
appeared  to  be  guilty  not  only  of  an  odious  want  of  faith,  but 
also  of  a  still  more  odious  want  of  sensibility  to  the  possible 
calamities  of  a  family  which  had  done  so  much  for  the  alle 
viation  of  mine.  I  was  silent ;  but  the  disappointment  seemed 
to  seal  my  fate.  No  prospect  opened  to  console  me.  To 
return  to  Michilimackinac  could  only  ensure  my  destruction ; 
and  to  remain  at  the  island  was  to  brave  almost  equal  danger, 
since  it  lay  in  the  direct  route  between  the  fort  and  the  Mis- 
sisaki,  along  which  the  Indians  from  Detroit  were  hourly 
expected  to  pass  on  the  business  of  their  mission.  I  doubted 
not  but,  taking  advantage  of  the  solitary  situation  of  the  family, 
they  would  carry  into  execution  their  design  of  killing  me. 

Unable  therefore  to  take  any  part  in  the  direction  of  our 
course,  but  a  prey  at  the  same  time  to  the  most  anxious 
thoughts  as  to  my  own  condition,  I  passed  all  the  day  on  the 
highest  part  to  which  I  could  climb  of  a  tall  treje,  and  whence 
the  lake,  on  both  sides  of  the  island,  lay  open  to  my  view. 
Here  I  might  hope  to  learn,  at  the  earliest  possible,  the  ap 
proach  of  canoes,  and  by  this  means  be  warned  in  time  to  con 
ceal  myself. 

On  the  second  morning  I  returned,  as  soon  as  it  was  light, 
to  my  watch-tower,  on  which  I  had  not  been  long  before  I 
discovered  a  sail  coming  from  Michilimackinac. 

The  sail  was  a  white  one,  and  much  larger  than  those 
usually  employed  by  the  Northern  Indians.  I  therefore  in 
dulged  a  hope  that  it  might  be  a  Canadian  canoe,  on  its  voyage 
to  Montreal ;  and  that  I  might  be  able  to  prevail  upon  the 
crew  to  take  me  with  them,  and  thus  release  me  from  all  my 
troubles. 

My  hopes  continued  to  gain  ground;  for  I  soon  persuaded 
myself  that  the  manner  in  which  the  paddles  were  used,  on 
board  the  canoe,  was  Canadian,  and  not  Indian.  My  spirits 
were  elated ;  but  disappointment  had  become  so  usual  with 
me  that  I  could  not  suffer  myself  to  look  to  the  event  with  any 
strength  of  confidence. 

Enough,  however,  appeared  at  length  to  demonstrate  itself 
to  induce  me  to  descend  the  tree,  and  repair  to  the  lodge,  with 
my  tidings  nod  schemes  of  liberty.  The  family  congratulated 
me  on  the  approach  of  so  fair  an  opportunity  of  escape;  «n*J 


324  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S   CAPTIVITY. 

my  father  and  brother  (for  he  was  alternately  each  of  these) 
lit  his  pipe,  and  presented  it  to  me,  saying,  "  My  son,  this 
may  be  the  last  time  that  ever  you  and  I  shall  smoke  out  of 
the  same  pipe !  I  am  sorry  to  part  with  you.  You  know  the 
affection  which  I  have  always  borne  you,  and  the  dangers  to 
which  I  have  exposed  myself  and  family,  to  preserve  you  from 
your  enemies ;  and  I  am  happy  to  find  that  my  efforts  promise 
not  to  have  been  in  vain."  At  this  time  a  boy  came  into  the 
lodge,  informing  us  that  the  canoe  had  come  from  Michili- 
mackinac,  and  was  bound  to  the  Sault  de  Sainte-Marie.  It 
was  manned  by  three  Canadians,  and  was  carrying  home 
Madame  Cadotte,  the  wife  of  M.  Cadotte,  already  mentioned. 

My  hopes  of  going  to  Montreal  being  now  dissipated,  I 
resolved  on  accompanying  Madame  Cadotte,  with  her  permis 
sion,  to  the  Sault.  On  communicating  my  wishes  to  Madame 
Cadotte,  she  cheerfully  acceded  to  them.  Madame  Cadotte, 
as  I  have  already  mentioned,  was  an  Indian  woman  of  the 
Chippeway  nation,  and  she  was  very  generally  respected. 

My  departure  fixed  upon,  I  returned  to  the  lodge,  where  I 
packed  up  my  wardrobe,  consisting  of  my  two  shirts,  pair  of 
leggins,  and  blanket.  Besides  these,  I  took  a  gun  and  am 
munition,  presenting  what  remained  further  to  my  host.  I  also 
returned  the  silver  arm-bands  with  which  the  family  had 
decorated  me  the  year  before. 

We  now  exchanged  farewells  with  an  emotion  entirely 
reciprocal.  I  did  not  quit  the  lodge  without  the  most  grateful 
sense  of  the  many  acts  of  goodness  which  I  had  experienced 
in  it,  nor  without  the  sincerest  respect  for  the  virtues  which  I 
had  witnessed  among  its  members.  All  the  family  accom 
panied  me  to  the  beach ;  and  the  canoe  had  no  sooner  put  off 
than  Wawatam  commenced  an  address  to  the  Kichi  Manito, 
beseeching  him  to  take  care  of  me,  his  brother,  till  we  should 
next  meet.  This  he  had  told  me  would  not  be  long,  as  he 
intended  to  return  to  Michilimackinac  for  a  short  time  only, 
and  would  then  follow  me  to  the  Sault.  We  had  proceeded 
to  too  great  a  distance  to  allow  ?f  our  hearing  his  voice  before 
Wawatam  had  ceased  to  offer  up  his  prayers. 

Being  now  no  longer  in  the  society  of  the  Indians,  I  laid 
aside  the  dress,  putting  on  that  of  a  Canadian  :  a  molton  or 
blanket  coat,  over  my  shirt ;  and  a  handkerchief  about  my 
head,  hats  being  very  little  worn  in  this  country. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  second  morning  of  our  voyage,  we 
embarked,  and  presently  perceived  several  canoes  behind  us. 
As  they  approached,  we  ascertained  them  to  be  the  fleet, 
bound  for  the  Missisaki,  of  which  I  had  been  so  long  in  dread. 
It  amounted  to  twenty  sail. 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  325 

On  coming  up  with  us,  and  surrounding  our  canoe,  and 
amid  general  inquiries  concerning  the  news,  an  Indian  chal 
lenged  me  for  an  Englishman,  and  his  companions  support 
ed  him.  by  declaring  that  I  looked  very  like  one ;  but  I 
affected  not  to  understand  any  of  the  questions  which  they 
asked  me,  and  Madame  Cadotte  assured  them  that  I  was  a 
Canadian,  whom  she  had  brought  on  his  first  voyage  from 
Montreal. 

The  following  day  saw  us  safely  landed  at  the  Sault,  where 
I  experienced  a  generous  welcome  from  M.  Cadotte.  There 
were  thirty  warriors  at  this  place,  restrained  from  joining  in 
the  war  only  by  M.  Cadotte's  influence. 

Here,  for  five  days,  I  was  once  more  in  possession  of  tran 
quillity;  but  on  the  sixth  a  young  Indian  came  into  M. 
Cadotte's,  saying  that  a  canoe  full  of  warriors  had  just  arrived 
from  Michilimackinac  ;  that  they  had  inquired  for  me  ;  and  that 
he  believed  their  intentions  to  be  bad.  Nearly  at  the  same  time, 
a  message  came  from  the  good  chief  of  the  village,  desiring  me 
to  conceal  myself  until  he  should  discover  the  views  and  tem 
per  of  the  strangers. 

A  garret  was  the  second  time  my  place  of  refuge ;  and  it 
was  not  long  before  the  Indians  came  to  M.  Cadotte's.  My 
friend  immediately  informed  Mutchikiwish,  their  chief,  who 
was  related  to  his  wife,  of  the  design  imputed  to  them, 
of  mischief  against  myself.  Mutchikiwish  frankly  acknow 
ledged  that  they  had  had  such  a  design  ;  but  added  that  if 
displeasing  to  M.  Cadotte,  it  should  be  abandoned.  He  then 
further  stated,  that  their  errand  was  to  raise  a  party  of  war 
riors  to  return  with  them  to  Detroit ;  and  that  it  had  been  their 
intention  to  take  me  with  them 

In  regard  to  the  principal  of  the  two  objects  thus  disclosed, 
M.  Cadotte  proceeded  to  assemble  all  the  chiefs  and  warriors 
of  the  village ;  and  these,  after  deliberating  for  some  time 
among  themselves,  sent  for  the  strangers,  to  whom  both  M. 
Cadotte  and  the  chief  of  the  village  addressed  a  speech.  In 
these  speeches,  after  recurring  to  the  designs  confessed  to  have 
been  entertained  against  myself,  who  was  now  declared  to  be 
under  the  immediate  protection  of  all  the  chiefs,  by  whom  any 
insult  I  might  sustain  would  be  avenged,  the  ambassadors 
were  peremptorily  told  that  they  might  go  back  as  they  came, 
none  of  the  young  men  of  this  village  being  foolish  enough? 
to  join  them. 

A  moment  after,  a  report  was  brought,  that  a  canoe  had  just 
arrived  from  Niagara.     As  this  was  a  place  from  which  every 
one  was  anxious  to  hear  news,  a  message  was  sent  to  these 
fresh  strangers,  requesting  them  to  come  to  the  council. 
28 


41 


326  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

The  strangers  came  accordingly,  and  being  seated,  a  long 
silence  ensued.  At  length,  one  of  them,  taking  up  a  belt  of 
wampum,  addressed  himself  thus  to  the  assembly :  "  My 
friends  and  brothers,  I  am  come,  with  this  belt,  from  our 
great  father,  Sir  William  Johnson.  He  desired  me  to  come 
to  you  as  his  ambassador,  and  tell  you  that  he  is  making  a 
great  feast  at  fort  Niagara ;  that  his  kettles  are  all  ready,  and 
his  fires  lit.  He  invites  you  to  partake  of  the  feast,  in  com 
mon  with  your  friends,  the  Six  Nations,  which  have  all  made 
peace  with  the  English.  He  advises  you  to  seize  this  oppor 
tunity  of  doing  the  same,  as  you  cannot  otherwise  fail  of  being 
destroyed ;  for  the  English  are  on  their  march,  with  a  great 
army,  which  will  be  joined  by  different  nations  of  Indians. 
In  a  word,  before  the  fall  of  the  leaf,  they  will  be  at  Michili- 
mackinac,  and  the  Six  Nations  with  them." 

The  tenor  of  this  speech  greatly  alarmed  the  Indians  of  the 
Sault,  who,  after  a  very  short  consultation,  agreed  to  send  twenty 
deputies  to  Sir  William  Johnson,  at  Niagara.  This  was  a 
project  highly  interesting  to  me,  since  it  offered  me  the  means 
of  leaving  the  country.  I  intimated  this  to  the  chief  of  the 
village,  and  received  his  promise  that  I  should  accompany  the 
deputation. 

Very  little  time  was  proposed  to  be  lost,  in  setting  forward 
on  the  voyage ;  but  the  occasion  was  of  too  much  magnitude 
not  to  call  for  more  than  human  knowledge  and  discretion  ; 
and  preparations  were  accordingly  made  for  solemnly  invoking 
and  consulting  the  GREAT  TURTLE. 

For  invoking  and  consulting  the  Great  Turtle,  the  first  thing 
to  be  done  was  the  building  of  a  large  house  or  wigwam, 
within  which  was  placed  a  species  of  tent,  for  the  use  of  the 
priest  and  reception  of  the  spirit.  The  tent  was  formed  of 
moose-skins,  "hung  over  a  frame-work  of  wood.  Five  poles,  or 
rather  pillars,  of  five  different  species  of  timber,  about  ten  feet 
in  height,  and  eight  inches  in  diameter,  were  set  in  a  circle 
or"  about  four  feet  in  diameter.  The  holes  made  to  re 
ceive  them  were  about  two  feet  deep ;  and  the  pillars  being 
set,  the  holes  were  filled  up  again,  with  the  earth  which  had 
been  dug  out.  At  top  the  pillars  were  bound  together  by  a 
circular  hoop,  or  girder.  Over  the  whole  of  this  edifice  were 
spread  the  moose-skins,  covering  it  at  top  and  round  the  sides, 
and  made  fast  with  thongs  of  the  same  ;  except  that  on  one  side 
a  part  was  left  unfastened,  to  admit  of  the  entrance  of  the  priest. 

The  ceremonies  did  not  commence  but  with  the  approach  of 
night.  To  give  light  within  the  house,  several  fires  were  kin 
dled  round  the  tent.  Nearly  the  whole  village  assembled  in 
the  house,  and  myself  among  the  rest.  It  was  not  long  bofore 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  327 

the  priest  appeared,  almost  in  a  state  of  nakedness.  As  he 
approached  the  tent  the  skins  were  lifted  up,  as  much  as  was 
necessary  to  allow  of  his  creeping  under  them,  on  his  hands 
and  knees.  His  head  was  scarcely  wilhinside,  when  the 
edifice,  massy  as  it  has  been  described,  began  to  shake ;  and 
the  skins  were  no  sooner  let  fall,  than  the  sounds  of  numerous 
voices  were  heard  beneath  them,  some  yelling,  some  barking 
as  dogs,  some  howling  like  wolves,  and  in  this  horrible  con 
cert  were  mingled  screams  and  sobs,  as  of  despair,  anguish 
and  ihe  sharpest  pain.  Articulate  speech  was  also  uttered,  as 
if  from  human  lips,  but  in  a  tongue  unknown  to  any  of  the 
nudience. 

After  some  time,  these  confused  and  frightful  noises  were 
succeeded  by  a  perfect  silence ;  and  now  a  voice,  not  heard 
before,  seemed  to  manifest  the  arrival  of  a  new  character  in 
the  tent.  This  was  a  low  and  feeble  voice,  resembling  the 
cry  of  a  young  puppy.  The  sound  was  no  sooner  distin 
guished,  than  all  the  Indians  clapped  their  hands  for  joy,  ex 
claiming,  that  this  was  the  Chief  Spirit,  the  TURTLE,  the  spirit 
that  never  lied  !  Other  voices,  which  they  had  discriminated 
from  time  to  time,  they  had  previously  hissed,  as  recognising 
them  to  belong  to  evil  and  lying  spirits,  which  deceive  man 
kind. 

New  sounds  came  from  the  tent.  During  the  space  of  half 
an  hour,  a  succession  of  songs  were  heard,  in  which  a  diver 
sity  of  voices  met  the  ear.  From  his  first  entrance,  till  these 
songs  were  finished,  we  heard  nothing  in  the  proper  voice  of 
the  priest ;  but  now,  he  addressed  the  multitude,  declaring  the 
presence  of  the  GREAT  TURTLE,  and  the  spirit's  readiness  to 
answer  such  questions  as  should  be  proposed. 

The  questions  were  to  come  from  the  chief  of  the  village, 
who  was  silent,  however,  till  after  he  had  put  a  large  quantity 
of  tobacco  into  the  tent,  introducing  it  at  the  aperture.  This 
was  a  sacrifice  offered  to  the  spirit ;  for  spirits  are  supposed 
by  the  Indians  to  be  as  fond  of  tobacco  as  themselves.  The 
tobacco  accepted,  he  desired  the  priest  to  inquire  whether  or 
not  the  English  were  preparing  to  make  war  upon  the  Indians; 
and  whether  or  not  there  were  at  fort  Niagara  a  large  num 
ber  of  English  troops. 

These  questions  having  been  put  hy  the  priest,  the  tent 
instantly  shook ;  and  for  some  seconds  after  it  continued  to 
rock  so' violently  that  I  expected  to  see  it  levelled  with  the 
ground.  All  this  was  a  prelude,  as  I  supposed,  to  the  answers 
to  be  given  ;  but  a  terrific  cry  announced,  with  sufficient 
intelligibility,  the  departure  of  the  TURTLE. 

A  qjarter  of  an  hour  elapsed  in  silence,  and  I  waited  impa- 


328  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

tiently  to  discover  what  was  to  be  the  next  incident  in  this 
scene  of  imposture.  It  consisted  in  the  return  of  the  spirit, 
whose  voice  was  again  heard,  and  who  now  delivered  a  con 
tinued  speech.  The  language  of  the  GREAT  TURTLE,  like 
that  which  we  had  heard  before,  was  wholly  unintelligible  to 
every  ear,  that  of  his  priest  excepted ;  and  it  was,  therefore, 
not  till  the  latter  gave  us  an  interpretation,  which  did  not 
commence  before  the  spirit  had  finished,  that  we  learned  the 
purport  of  this  extraordinary  communication. 

The  spirit,  as  we  were  now  informed  by  the  priest,  had, 
during  his  short  absence,  crossed  lake  Huron,  and  even  pro 
ceeded  as  far  as  fort  Niagara,  which  is  at  the  head  of  lake 
Ontario,  and  thence  to  Montreal.  At  fort  Niagara,  he  had 
seen  no  great  number  of  soldiers ;  but  on  descending  the  St. 
Lawrence,  as  low  as  Montreal,  he  had  found  the  river  covered 
with  boats,  and  the  boats  filled  with  soldiers,  in  number  like 
the  leaves  of  the  trees.  He  had  met  them  on  their  way  up 
the  river,  coming  to  make  war  upon  the  Indians. 

The  chief  had  a  third  question  to  propose,  and  the  spirit, 
without  a  fresh  journey  to  fort  Niagara,  was  able  to  give  an 
instant  and  most  favorable  answer.  "  If,"  said  the  chief,  "  the 
Indians  visit  Sir  William  Johnson,  will  they  be  received  as 
friends  ?" 

"  Sir  William  Johnson,"  said  the  spirit,  (and  after  the  spirit 
the  priest,)  "  Sir  William  Johnson  will  fill  their  canoes  with 
presents,  with  blankets,  kettles,  guns,  gunpowder  and  shot,  and 
large  barrels  of  rum,  such  as  the  stoutest  of  the  Indians  will 
not  be  able  to  lift ;  and  every  man  will  return  in  safety  to  his 
family." 

At  this,  the  transport  was  universal ;  and,  amid  the  clap- 

?ing  of  hands,  a  hundred  voices  exclaimed,  "  I  will  go,  too ! 
will  go  too  !" 

The  questions  of  public  interest  being  resolved,  individuals 
were  now  permitted  to  seize  the  opportunity  of  inquiring  into 
the  condition  of  their  absent  friends,  and  the  fate  of  such  as 
were  sick.  I  observed  that  the  answers,  given  to  these  ques 
tions,  allowed  of  much  latitude  of  interpretation. 

Amid  this  general  inquisitiveness,  I  yielded  to  the  solicita 
tions  of  my  own  anxiety  for  the  future  ;  and  having  first,  like 
the  rest,  made  my  offering  of  tobacco,  I  inquired  whether  or 
not  I  should  ever  revisit  my  native  country.  The  question 
being  put  by  the  priest,  the  tent  shook  as  usual ;  after  which 
I  received  this  answer  :  "  That  I  should  take  courage,  and  fear 
no  danger,  for  that  nothing  would  happen  to  hurt  me  ;  and  that 
I  should,  in  the  end,  reach  my  friends  and  country  in  safety." 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY.  329 

These  assurances  wrought  so  strongly  on  my  gratitude,  that  I 
presented  an  additional  and  extra  offering  of  tobacco. 

The  Great  Turtle  continued  to  be  consulted  till  near  mid 
night,  when  all  the  crowd  dispersed  to  their  respective  lodges. 
I  was  on  the  watch,  through  the  scene  I  have  described,  to 
detect  the  particular  contrivances  by  which  the  fraud  was 
carried  on  ;  but  such  was  the  skill  displayed  in  the  perform 
ance,  or  such  my  deficiency  of  penetration,  that  I  made 
no  discoveries,  but  came  away  as  I  went,  with  no  more  than 
those  general  surmises  which  will  naturally  be  entertained  by 
every  reader.^ 

On  the  10th  of  June,  I  embarked  with  the  Indian  deputa 
tion,  composed  of  sixteen  men.  Twenty  had  been  the  num 
ber  originally  designed ;  and  upward  of  fifty  actually  engaged 
themselves  to  the  council  for  the  undertaking ;  to  say  nothing 
of  the  general  enthusiasm,  at  the  moment  of  hearing  the 
GREAT  TURTLE'S  promises.  But  exclusively  of  the  degree  of 
timidity  which  still  prevailed,  we  are  to  take  into  account  the 
various  domestic  calls,  which  might  supersede  all  others,  and 
detain  many  with  their  families. 

In  the  evening  of  the  second  day  of  our  voyage,  we  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Missisaki,  where  we  found  about  forty 
Indians,  by  whom  we  were  received  with  abundant  kindness, 
and  at  night  regaled  at  a  great  feast,  held  on  account  of  our 
arrival.  The  viand  was  a  preparation  of  the  roe  of  the  stur 
geon,  beat  up,  and  boiled,  and  of  the  consistence  of  porridge. 

After  eating,  several  speeches  were  made  to  us,  of  which 
the  general  topic  was  a  request  that  we  should  recommend  the 
village  to  Sir  William  Johnson.  This  request  was  also  spe 
cially  addressed  to  me,  and  I  promised  to  comply  with  it. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  we  passed  the  village  of  La  Cloche, 
of  which  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  were  absent,  being 
already  on  a  visit  to  Sir  William  Johnson.  This  circumstance 
greatly  encouraged  the  companions  of  my  voyage,  who  now 
saw  that  they  were  not  the  first  to  run  into  danger. 

The  next  day,  about  noon,  the  wind  blowing  very  hard,  we 
were  obliged  to  put  ashore  at  Point  aux  Grondines,  a  place  of 

*  M.  de  Champlain  has  left  an  account  of  an  exhibition  of  the  nature 
here  described,  which  may  be  seen  in  Charlevoix's  Histoire  et  Description 
Generale  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  livre  IV.  This  took  place  in  the  year 
1609,  and  was  performed  among  a  party  of  warriors,  composed  of  Algon- 
quins,  Montagnez  and  Hurons.  Carver  witnessed  another,  among  the 
Christinaux.  In  each  case,  the  details  are  somewhat  different,  but  the 
outline  is  the  same.  M.  de  Champlain  mentions  that  he  saw  the  jongleur 
shake  the  stakes  or  pillars  of  the  tent.  I  was  not  so  fortunate  ;  but  this 
is  the  obvious  explanation  of  that  part  of  the  mystery  to  which  it  refers. 
Captain  Carver  leaves  the  whole  in  darkness. 
28* 


330  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

which  some  description  has  been  given  above.  While  the  In 
dians  erected  a  hut,  I  employed  myself  in  making  a  fire.  As 
I  was  gathering  wood,  an  unusal  sound  fixed  my  attention  for 
a  moment;  but,  as  it  presently  ceased,  and  as  I  saw  nothing 
from  which  I  could  suppose  it  to  proceed,  I  continued  my  em 
ployment,  till,  advancing  further,  I  was  alarmed  by  a  repetition 
I  imagined  that  it  came  from  above  my  head ;  but  after  look 
ing  that  way  in  vain,  I  cast  my  eyes  on  the  ground,  and  there 
discovered  a  rattlesnake,  at  not  more  than  two  feet  from  my 
naked  legs.  The  reptile  was  coiled,  and  its  head  raised  con 
siderably  above  its  body.  Had  I  advanced  another  step  before 
my  discovery,  I  must  have  trodden  upon  it. 

I  no  sooner  saw  the  snake  than  I  hastened  to  the  canoe,  in 
order  to  procure  my  gun  ;  but  the  Indians,  observing  what  I 
was  doing,  inquired  the  occasion,  and  being  informed,  begged 
me  to  desist.  At  the  same  time  they  followed  me  to  the  spot, 
with  their  pipes  and  tobacco-pouches  in  their  hands.  On  re 
turning,  I  found  the  snake  still  coiled. 

The  Indians,  on  their  part,  surrounded  it,  all  addressing  it 
by  turns  and  calling  it  their  grandfather ;  but  yet  keeping  at 
some  distance.  During  this  part  of  the  ceremony  they  filled 
their  pipes ;  and  now  each  blew  the  smoke  toward  the  snake, 
who,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  really  received  it  with  pleasure.  In 
a  word,  after  remaining  coiled,  and  receiving  incense,  for  the 
space  of  half  an  hour,  it  stretched  itself  along  the  ground  in 
visible  good  humor.  Its  length  was  between  four  and  five  feet. 
Having  remained  outstretched  for  some  time,  at  last  it  moved 
slowly  away,  the  "Indians  following  it,  and  still  addressing  it  by 
the  title  of  grandfather,  beseeching  it  to  take  care  of  their 
families  during  their  absence,  and  to  be  pleased  to  open  the 
heart  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  so  that  he  might  show  them 
charity,  and  fill  their  canoe  with  rum. 

One  of  the  chiefs  added  a  petition  that  the  snake  would  take 
no  notice  of  the  insult  which  had  been  offered  him  by  the 
Englishman,  who  would  even  have  put  him  to  death  but  for 
the  interference  of  the  Indians,  to  whom  it  was  hoped  he  would 
impute  no  part  of  the  offence.  They  further  requested  that  he 
would  remain  and  inhabit  their  country,  and  not  return  among 
the  English,  that  is,  go  eastward. 

After  the  rattlesnake  was  gone,  I  learned  that  this  was  the 
first  time  that  an  individual  of  the  species  had  been  seen  so  far 
to  the  northward  and  westward  of  the  river  Des  Francois ;  a 
circumstance,  moreover,  from  which  my  companions  were  dis 
posed  to  infer  that  this  maiiito  had  come  or  been  sent  on  pur 
pose  to  meet  them  :  that  his  errand  had  been  no  other  than  to 
stop  them  on  their  way ;  and  that  consequently  it  would  be 


ALEXANDER  HENRY'S    CAPTIVITY.  331 

I 

most  advisable  to  return  to  the  point  of  departure.  I  was  so 
fortunate,  however,  as  to  prevail  with  them  to  embark  ;  and  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  again  encamped.  Very  little 
was  spoken  of  through  the  evening,  the  rattlesnake  excepted. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  proceeded.  We  had  a  serene 
sky  and  very  little  wind,  and  the  Indians  therefore  determined 
on  steering  across  the  lake  to  an  island  which  just  appeared  in 
the  horizon  ;  saving,  by  this  course,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles, 
which  would  be  lost  in  keeping  the  shore.  At  nine  o'clock,  A. 
M.  we  had  a  light  breeze  astern,  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  which 
we  hoisted  sail.  Soon  after  the  wind  increased,  and  the  In 
dians,  beginning  to  be  alarmed,  frequently  called  on  the  rattle 
snake  to  come  to  their  assistance.  By  degrees  the  waves  grew 
high ;  and  at  eleven  o'clock  it  blew  a  hurricane,  and  we  ex 
pected  every  moment  to  be  swallowed  up.  From  prayers  the 
Indians  now  proceeded  to  sacrifices,  both  alike  offered  to  the 
god  rattlesnake,  or  manito  kinibic.  One  of  the  chiefs  took  a 
dog,  and  after  tying  its  fore  legs  together  threw  it  overboard, 
at  the  same  time  calling  on  the  snake  to  preserve  us  from  being 
drowned,  and  desiring  him  to  satisfy  his  hunger  with  the  car 
cass  of  the  dog.  The  snake  was  unpropitious,  and  the  wind 
increased.  Another  chief  sacrificed  another  dog,  with  the 
addition  of  some  tobacco.  In  the  prayer  which  accompanied 
these  gifts,  he  besought  the  snake,  as  before,  not  to  avenge  upon 
the  Indians  the  insult  which  he  had  received  from  myself,  in 
the  conception  of  a  design  to  put  him  to  death.  He  assured 
the  snake  that  I  was  absolutely  an  Englishman,  and  of  kin 
neither  to  him  nor  to  them. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  speech,  an  Indian  who  sat  near  me 
observed,  that  if  we  were  drowned  it  would  be  for  my  fault 
alone,  and  that  I  ought  myself  to  be  sacrificed,  to  appease  the 
anory  manito  ;  nor  was  I  without  apprehensions  that  in  case 
of  extremity  this  would  be  my  fate  ;  but,  happily  for  me,  the 
storm  at  length  abated,  and  we  reached  the  island  safely. 

The  next  day  was  calm,  and  we  arrived  at  the  entrance^  of 
the  navigation  which  leads  to  lake  Aux  Claies.t  We  present 
ly  passed  two  short  carrying-places,  at  each  of  which  were 
several  lodges  of  Indians,^  containing  only  women  and  children, 
the  men  being  gone  to  the  council  at  Niagara.  From  this,  as 
from  a  former  instance,  my  companions  derived  new  courage. 

*  This  is  the  bay  of  Matchedash,  or  Matchitashk. 

f  This  lake,  which  is  now  called  lake  Simcoe,  lies  between  lakes  Hu 
ron  and  Ontario. 

j:  These  Indians  are  Chippeways,  of  the  particular  description  called 
Missisakies  ;  and  from  their  residence  at  Matchedash,  or  Matchitashk, 
also  called  Matchedash  or  Matchitashk  Indians. 


332  ALEXANDER  HENRY'S  CAPTIVITY. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  we  crossed  lake  Aux  Claies,  which 
appeared  to  be  upward  of  twenty  miles  in  length.  At  its  fur 
ther  end  we  came  to  the  carrying-place  of  Toranto.*  Here 
the  Indians  obliged  me  to  carry  a  burden  of  more  than  a  hun 
dred  pounds  weight.  The  day  was  very  hot,  and  the  woods 
and  marshes  abounded  with  mosquitoes ;  but  the  Indians 
walked  at  a  quick  paee,  and  I  could  by  no  means  see  myself 
left  behind.  The  whole  country  was  a  thick  forest,  through 
which  our  only  road  was  a  foot-path,  or  such  as.  in  America,  is 
exclusively  termed  an  Indian  path. 

Next  morning  at  ten  o'clock  we  reached  the  shore  of  lake 
Ontario.  Here  we  were  employed  two  days  in  making  canoes 
out  of  the  bark  of  the  elm  tree,  in  which  we  were  to  transport 
ourselves  to  Niagara.  For  this  purpose  the  Indians  first  cut 
down  a  tree ;  then  stripped  off  the  bark  in  one  entire  sheet  of 
about  eighteen  feet  in  length,  the  incision  being  lengthwise. 
The  canoe  was  now  complete  as  to  its  top,  bottom,  and  sides. 
Its  ends  were  next  closed  by  sewing  the  bark  together ;  and  a 
few  ribs  and  bars  being  introduced,  the  architecture  was  finish 
ed.  In  this  manner  we  made  two  canoes,  of  which  one  car 
ried  eight  men  and  the  other  nine. 

On  the  21st,  we  embarked  at  Toranto,  and  encamped  in  the 
evening  four  miles  short  of  fort  Niagara,  which  the  Indians 
would  not  approach  till  morning. 

At  dawn,  the  Indians  were  awake,  and  presently  assembled 
in  council,  still  doubtful  as  to  the  fate  they  were  to  encounter. 
I  assured  them  of  the  most  friendly  welcome ;  and  at  length, 
after  painting  themselves  with  the  most  lively  colors,  in  token 
of  their  own  peaceable  views,  and  after  singing  the  song  which 
is  in  use  among  them  on  going  into  danger,  they  embarked, 
and  made  for  point  Missisaki,  which  is  on  the  north  side  of 
the  mouth  of  the  river  or  strait  of  Niagara,  as  the  fort  is  on 
the  south.  A  few  minutes  after  I  crossed  over  to  the  fort ;  and 
here  I  was  received  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  in  a  manner  for 
which  I  have  ever  been  gratefully  attached  to  his  person  and 
memory. 

Thus  was  completed  my  escape  from  the  sufferings  and 
dangers  which  the  capture  of  fort  Michilimackinac  brought 
upon  me  ;  but  the  property  which  I  had  carried  into  the  upper 
country  was  left  behind.  The  reader  will  therefore  be  far 
from  attributing  to  me  any  idle  or  unaccountable  motive,  wfien 
he  finds  me  returning  to  the  scene  of  my  misfortunes. 

*  Toranto,  or  Toronto,  is  the  name  of  a  French  trading-house  on  lake 
Ontario,  built  near  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  York,  the  capital  of  the 
province  of  Upper  Canada.  [Tt  is  one  of  the  most  important  piaces  in 
that  province  at  this  time. — Ed  ] 


333 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  OF  FREDERICK  MANHEIM. 

FREDERICK  MANHEIM,  an  industrious  German,  with  his  fam 
ily,  consisting  of  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  eighteen  years  ol  age, 
and  Maria  and  Christina,  his  youngest  children,  (twins,)  about 
sixteen,  resided  near  the  river  Mohawk,  eight  miles  west  of 
Johnston.  On  the  19th  of  October,  1779,  the  father  being  at 
work  at  some  distance  from  his  habitation,  and  the  mother  and 
eldest  daughter  on  a  visit  at  a  neighbor's,  two  hostile  Cana- 
sadaga  Indians  rushed  in  and  captured  the  twin  sisters. 

The  party  to  which  these  savages  belonged  consisted  of  fifty 
warriors,  who,  after  securing  twenty-three  of  the  inhabitants 
of  that  neighborhood,  (among  whom  was  the  unfortunate  Fre 
derick  Manheim,)  and  firing  their  houses,  retired  for  four  days 
with  the  utmost  precipitancy,  till  they  were  quite  safe  from 
pursuit.  The  place  where  they  halted  on  the  evening  of  the 
day  of  rest  was  a  thick  pine  swamp,  which  rendered  the  dark 
ness  of  an  uncommonly  gloomy  night  still  more  dreadful. 
The  Indians  kindled  a  fire,  which  they  had  not  done  before, 
and  ordered  their  prisoners,  whom  they  kept  together,  to 
refresh  themselves  with  such  provisions  as  they  had.  The 
Indians  eat  by  themselves.  After  supper  the  appalled  captives 
observed  their  enemies,  instead  of  retiring  to  rest,  busied  in 
operations  which  boded  nothing  good.  Two  saplings  were 
pruned  clear  of  branches  up  to  the  very  top,  and  all  the  brush, 
cleared  away  for  several  rods  around  them.  While  this  was 


334  MRS.    BOZARTH'S  EXPLOIT. 

doing,  others  were  splitting  pitch-pine  billets  into  small  splinters 
about  five  inches  in  length,  and  as  small  as  one's  little  finger, 
sharpening  one  end,  and  dipping  the  other  in  melted  turpen 
tine. 

At  length,  with  countenances  distorted  by  infernal  fury,  and 
hideous  yells,  the  two  savages  who  had  captured  the  hapless 
Maria  and  Christina  leaped  into  the  midst  of  the  circle  of  pri-» 
soners,  and  dragged  those  ill-fated  maidens,  shrieking,  from  the 
embraces  of  their  companions.  These  warriors  had  disagreed 
about  whose  property  the  girls  should  be,  as  they  had  jointly 
seized  them;  and,  to  terminate  the  dispute  agreeably  to  the 
abominable  custom  of  the  savages,  it  was  determined  by  the 
chiefs  of  the  party  that  the  prisoners  who  had  given  rise  to  the 
contention  should  be  destroyed,  and  that  their  captors  should 
be  the  principal  agents  in  the  execrable  business.  These  furies, 
assisted  by  their  comrades,  stripped  the  forlorn  girls,  convulsed 
with  apprehensions,  and  tied  each  to  a  sapling,  with  their  hands 
as  high  extended  above  their  heads  as  possible  ;  and  then 
pitched  them  from  their  knees  to  their  shoulders,  with  upwards 
of  six  hundred  of  the  sharpened  splinters  above  described, 
which,  at  every  puncture,  were  attended  with  screams  of  dis 
tress,  that  echoed  through  the  wilderness.  And  then,  to  com 
plete  the  infernal  tragedy,  the  splinters,  all  standing  erect  on 
the  bleeding  victims,  were  set  on  fire,  and  exhibited  a  scene  of 
extreme  misery,  beyond  the  power  of  speech  to  describe,  or 
even  the  imagination  to  conceive.  It  was  not  until  near  three 
hours  had  elapsed  from  the  commencement  of  their  torments, 
and  that  they  had  lost  almost  every  resemblance  of  the  human 
form,  that  these  helpless  virgins  sunk  down  in  the  arms  of  their 
deliverer,  death. 


SIGNAL  PROWESS  OF  A  WOMAN,  IN  A  COMBAT 

WITH  SOME  INDIANS.    IN  A  LETTER  TO  A  LADY  OF   PHIL 
ADELPHIA. 

Westmoreland,  April  26,  1779. 

MADAM, — I  have  written  an  account  of  a  very  particular 
affair  between  a  white  man  and  two  Indians.^  I  am  now  to 
give  you  a  relation  in  which  you  will  see  how  a  person  of 
your  sex  acquitted  herself  in  defence  of  her  own  life,  and  that 
of  her  husband  and  children. 

*  Reference  is  probably  made  to  the  desperate  encounter  of  one  Mor 
gan  and  two  Indians. — Ed. 


REV.  JOHN    COREL Y'S  NARRATIVE.  335 

The  lady  who  is  the  burthen  of  this  story  is  named  Expe 
rience  Bozarth.  She  lives  on  a  creek  called  Dunkard  creek, 
in  the  south-west  corner  of  this  county.  About  the  middle  of 
March  last,  two  or  three  families,  who  were  afraid  to  stay  at 
home,  gathered  to  her  house  and  there  stayed  ;  looking  on 
themselves  to  be  safer  than  when  all  scattered  about  at  their 
own  houses. 

On  a  certain  day  some  of  the  children  thus  collected  came 
running  in  from  play  in  great  haste,  saying  there  were  ugly 
red  men.  One  of  the  men  in  the  house  stepped  to  the  door, 
where  he  received  a  ball  in  the  side  of  his  breast,  which  caused 
him  to  fall  back  into  the  house.  The  Indian  was  immediately 
in  over  him,  and  engaged  with  another  man  who  was  in  the 
house.  The  man  tossed  the  Indian  on  a  bed,  and  called  for  a 
knife  to  kill  him.  (Observe  these  were  all  the  men  that  were 
in  the  house.)  Now  Mrs.  Bozarth  appears  the  only  defence, 
who,  not  finding  a  knife  at  hand,  took  up  an  axe  that  lay  by, 
and  with  one  blow  cut  out  the  brains  of  the  Indian.  At  that 
instant,  (for  all  was  instantaneous,)  a  second  Indian  entered  the 
door,  and  shot  the  man  dead  who  was  engaged  with  the  Indian 
on  the  bed.  Mrs.  Bozarth  turned  to  this  second  Indian,  and 
with  her  axe  gave  him  several  large  cuts,  some  of  which  let 
his  entrails  appear.  He  bawled  out,  murder,  murder.  On  this 
sundry  other  Indians  (who  had  hitherto  been  fully  employed, 
killing  some  children  out  of  doors)  came  rushing  to  his  relief; 
one  of  whose  heads  Mrs.  Bozarth  clove  in  two  with  her  axe,  as 
he  stuck  it  in  at  the  door,  which  laid  him  flat  upon  the  soil 
Another  snatched  hold  of  the  wounded  bellowing  fellow,  and 
pulled  him  out  of  doors,  and  Mrs.  Bozarth,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  man  who  was  first  shot  in  the  door,  and  by  this  time  a 
little  recovered,  shut  the  door  after  them,  and  made  it  fast, 
where  they  kept  garrison  for  several  days,  the  dead  white  man 
and  dead  Indian  both  in  the  house  with  them,  and  the  Indians 
about  the  house  besieging  them.  At  length  they  were  relieved 
by  a  party  sent  for  that  purpose. 

This  whole  affair,  to  shutting  the  door,  was  not  perhaps  more 
than  three  minutes  in  acting. 


REV.  JOHN  CORBLY'S  NARRATIVE. 

IF,  after  perusing  the  annexed  melancholy  narrative,  you 
deem  it  worthy  a  place  in  your  publication,  it  is  at  your  service. 
Such  communications,  founded  on  fact,  have  a  tendency  on  one 
hand  to  make  us  feel  for  the  persons  afflicted,  and  on  the  other 


336  REV.  JOHN  CORBLY'S  NARRATIVE. 

to  impress  our  hearts  with  gratitude  to  the  Sovereign  Disposer 
of  all  events  for  that  emancipation  which  the  United  States 
have  experienced  from  the  haughty  claims  of  Britain — a  pow 
er,  at  that  time,  so  lost  to  every  human  affection,  that,  rather 
than  not  subdue  and  make  us  slaves,  they  basely  chose  to 
encourage,  patronize  and  reward,  as  their  most  faithful  and 
beloved  allies,  the  savages  of  the  wilderness ;  who,  without 
discrimination,  barbarously  massacred  the  industrious  husband 
man,  the  supplicating  female,  the  prattling  child  and  tender 
infant,  vainly  sheltered  within  the  encircling  arms  of  maternal 
fondness.  Such  transactions,  as  they  come  to  our  knowledge 
well  authenticated,  ought  to  be  recorded,  that  our  posterity  may 
not  be  ignorant  of  what  their  ancestors  underwent  at  the  try 
ing  period  of  our  national  exertions  for  American  independence. 
The  following  account  was,  at  my  request,  drawn  up  by  the 
unfortunate  sufferer.  Respecting  the  author,  suffice  it  to  say, 
that  he  is  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Baptist  faith  and  order, 
and  held  in  high  estimation  by  all  our  associated  churches. 

I  am,  sir,  yours,  &c., 

WILLIAM  ROGERS. 


Muddy  Creek,  Washington  County,  July  8,  1785. 

Dear  Sir, — The  following  is  a  just  and  true  account  of  the 
tragical  scene  of  my  family's  falling  by  the  savages,  which  I 
related  when  at  your  house  in  Philadelphia,  and  you  requested 
me  to  forward  in  writing. 

On  the  second  Sabbath  in  May,  in  the  year  1782,  being  my 
appointment  at  one  of  my  meeting-houses  about  a  mile  from 
my  dwelling-house,  I  set  out  with  my  dear  wife  and  five  chil 
dren,  for  public  worship.  Not  suspecting  any  danger,  I  walked 
behind  two  hundred  yards,  with  my  Bible  in  my  hand,  medi 
tating  ;  as  I  was  thus  employed,  all  on  a  sudden  I  was  greatly 
alarmed  with  the  frightful  shrieks  of  my  dear  family  before  me. 
I  immediately  ran  with  all  the  speed  I  could,  vainly  hunting  a 
club  as  I  ran,  till  I  got  within  forty  yards  of  them.  My  poor 
wife,  seeing  me,  cried  to  me  to  make  my  escape ;  an  Indian 
ran  up  to  shoot  me.  I  had  to  strip,  and  by  so  doing  outran- 
him.  My  dear  wife  had  a  sucking  child  in  her  arms;  this 
little  infant  they  killed  and  scalped.  They  then  struck  my 
wife  at  sundry  times,  but  not  getting  her  down,  the  Indian  who 
had  aimed  to  shoot  me  ran  to  her,  shot  her  through  the  body, 
arid  scalped  her.  My  li'tle  boy,  an  only  son,  about  six  years 
old,  they  sunk  the  hatchet  into  his  brains,  and  thus  dispatched 
him.  A  daughter,  besides  the  infant,  they  also  killed  and 
scalped.  My  eMest  daughter,  who  is  yet  alive,  was  hid  in  a 


REV.  JOHN   CORBLY'S  NARRATIVE.  337 

tree  about  twenty  yards  from  the  place  where  the  rest  were 
killed,  and  saw  the  whole  proceedings.  She,  seeing  the  In 
dians  all  go  off,  as  she  thought,  got  up  and  deliberately  crept 
out  from  the  hollow  trunk ;  but  one  of  them  espying  her,  ran 
hastily  up,  knocked  her  down  and  scalped  her ;  also  her  only 
surviving  sister,  on  whose  head  they  did  not  leave  more  than 
one  inch  round,  either  of  flesh  or  skin,  besides  taking  a  piece 
out  of  her  skull.  She  and  the  before-mentioned  one  are  still 
miraculously  preserved,  though,  as  you  must  think,  I  have  had, 
and  still  have,  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  expense  with  them, 
besides  anxiety  about  them,  insomuch  that  I  am,  as  to  worldly 
circumstances,  almost  ruined.  I  am  yet  in  hopes  of  seeing 
them  cured;  they  still,  blessed  be  God, retain  their  senses,  not 
withstanding  the  painful  operations  they  have  already  and  must 
yet  pass  through.  At  the  time  I  ran  round  to  see  what  was 
become  of  my  family,  and  found  my  dear  and  affectionate  wife 
with  five  children  all  scalped  in  less  than  ten  minutes  from  the 
first  outset.  No  one,  my  dear  brother,  can  conceive  how  I  felt ; 
this  you  may  well  suppose  was  killing  to  me.  I  instantly 
fainted  away,  and  was  borne  off  by  a  friend,  who  by  this  time 
had  found  us  out.  When  I  recovered,  oh  the  anguish  of  my 
soul !  I  cried,  would  to  God  I  ha4  died  for  them  !  would  to 
God  I  had  died  with  them  !  O  how  dark  and  mysterious  did 
this  trying  providence  then  appear  to  me  !  but — 

'  Why  should  I  grieve,  when,  grieving,  I  must  bear  ?" 

This,  dear  sir,  is  a  faithful,  though  short  narrative  of  that 
fatal  catastrophe ;  and  my  life  amidst  it  all,  for  what  purpose 
Jehovah  only  knows,  redeemed  from  surrounding  death.  Oh, 
may  I  spend  it  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  his  grace,  who  work- 
eth  all  things  after  the  council  of  his  own  will.  The  govern 
ment  of  the  world  and  of  the  church  is  in  his  hands.  May  it 
be  taught  the  important  lesson  of  acquiescing  in  all  his  dispen 
sations.  I  conclude  with  wishing  you  every  blessing,  and 
subscribe  myself  your  affectionate,  though  afflicted  friend  and 
unworthy  brother  in  the  gospel  ministry, 

*  JOHN  CORBLY. 


338 


A  TRUE  AND  WONDERFUL  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  SURPRISING 
CAPTIVITY'  AND  REMARKABLE  DELIVERANCE  OF  MRS. 
FRANCIS  SCOTT,  AN  INHABITANT  OF  WASHINGTON  COUN 
TY,  VIRGINIA,  WHO  WAS  TAKEN  BY  THE  INDIANS  ON  THE 
EVENING  OF  THE  29th  OF  JUNE,  1785. 

ON  Wednesday,  the  29th  day  of  June,  1785,  late  in  the 
evening,  a  large  company  of  armed  men  passed  the  house  on 
their  way  to  Kentucky,  some  part  of  whom  encamped  within 
two  miles.  Mr.  Scott's  living  on  a  frontier  part  generally  made 
the  family  watchful;  but  on  this  calamitous  day,  after  so  large 
a  body  of  men  had  passed,  he  lay  down  in  his  bed,  and  im 
prudently  left  one  of  the  doors  of  his  house  open  ;  the  children 
were  also  in  bed  and  asleep.  Mrs.  Scott  was  nearly  undressed, 
when,  to  her  unutterable  astonishment  and  horror,  she  saw 
rushing  in  through  the  door,  that  was  left  open,  painted  sa 
vages,  with  their  arms  presented  at  the  same  time,  raising  a 
hideous  shriek.  Mr.  Scott,  being  awake,  instantly  jumped 
from  his  bed,  and  was  immediately  fired  at.  He  forced  his 
way  through  the  midst  of  the  enemy,  and  got  out  of  the  house, 
but  fell  a  few  paces  from  the  door.  An  Indian  seized  Mrs. 
Scott,  and  ordered  her  to  a  particular  place,  charging  her  not  to 
move.  Others  stabbed  and  cut  the  throats  of  the  three  young 
est  children  in  their  bed,  and  afterwards  lifted  them  up,  antl 
dashed  them  on  the  floor  near  their  mother.  The  eldest,  a 
beautiful  girl,  eight  years  of  age,  awoke,  and  jumping  out  of 
bed,  ran  to  her  mother,  and  with  the  most  plaintive  accents 
cried,  "  O  mamma  !  mamma !  save  me  ! "  The  mother,  in  the 
deepest  anguish  of  spirit,  and  with  a  flood  of  tears,  entreated 
the  Indians  to  spare  her  life;  but,  with  that  awfully  revoking 
brutality,  they  tomahawked  and  stabbed  her  in  her  mother's 
arms ! ! 

Adjacent  to  Mr,  Scott's  dwelling-house  another  family  lived 
of  the  name  of  Ball.  The  Indians  also  attacked  them  at  the 
same  time,  but  the  door  being  shut,  they  fired  into  the  house 
through  an  opening  between  the  logs  which  composed  its. 
walls,  and  killed  a  lad,  and  then  essayed  to  force  open  the 
door  ;  but  a  brother  of  the  lad  which  had  been  shot  down  fired 
at  the  Indians  through  the  door,  and  they  relinquished  the 
attack.  In  the  mean  time  the  remaining  part  of  the  family  ran 
out  of  the  house  and  escaped. 

In  the  house  of  Mr.  Scott  were  four  good  rifles,  well  loaded, 
belonging  to  people  that  had  left  them  as  they  were  going  to 
Kentucky.  The  Indians,  thirteen  in  number,  seized  these,  and 


MRS.  SCOTT'S  CAPTIVITY.  339 

all  the  plunder  they  could  lay  their  hands  on  besides,  and 
hastily  began  a  retreat  into  the  wilderness.  It  was  now  late 
in  the  evening,  and  they  travelled  all  the  following  night. 
The  next  morning,  June  the  30th,  the  chief  of  the  party 
allotted  to  each  of  his  followers  his  share  of  the  plunder  and 
prisoners,  at  the  same  time  detaching  nine  of  his  party  to  go 
on  a  horse-stealing  expedition  on  Clinch  river. 

The  eleventh  day  after  Mrs.  Scott's  captivity,  four  Indians 
that  had  her  in  charge  stopped  at  a  place  fixed  on  for  rendez 
vous,  and  to  hunt,  being  now  in  great  want  of  provisions. 
Three  of  these  four  set  out  on  the  hunting  expedition,  leaving 
their  chief,  an  old  man,  to  take  care  of  the  prisoner,  who  now 
had,  to  all  appearances,  become  reconciled  to  her  situation, 
and  expressed  a  willingness  to  proceed  to  the  Indian  towns, 
which  seemed  to  have  the  desired  effect  of  lessening  her 
keeper's  watchfulness.  In  the  daytime,  while  the  old  man 
was  graining  a  deer-skin,  Mrs.  Scott,  pondering  on  her  situa 
tion,  began  anxiously  to  look  for  an  opportunity  to  make  an 
escape.  At  length,  having  matured  her  resolution  in  her  own 
mind  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object,  the  first  opportunity 
she  goes  to  the  old  chief  with  great  confidence,  and  in  the  most 
disinterested  manner  asked  him  for  liberty  to  go  to  a  small 
stream,  a  little  distance  off,  to  wash  the  blood  from  her  apron, 
that  had  remained  upon  it  since  the  fatal  night,  caused  by  the 
murder  of  her  child  in  her  arms,  before  related.  He  replied, 
in  the  English  tongue,  "  go  along."  She  then  passed  by  him, 
his  face  being  in  a  contrary  direction  from  that  she  was  going, 
and  he  very  busy  in  dressing  his  skin,  passed  on,  seemingly 
unnoticed  by  him. 

After  arriving  at  the  water,  instead  of  stopping  to  wash  her 
apron,  as  she  pretended,  she  proceeded  on  without  a  moment's 
delay.  She  laid  her  course  for  a  high  barren  mountain  which 
was  in  sight,  and  travelled  until  late  at  night,  when  she  came 
down  into  the  valley  in  search  of  the  track  she  had  been  taken 
along  in  by  the  Indians  a  few  days  before,  hoping  thereby  to 
find  the  way  back  to  the  settlement  without  the  imminent  peril, 
which  now  surrounded  her,  of  being  lost  and  perishing  with 
hunger  in  this  unknown  region. 

On  coming  across  the  valley  to  the  side  of  a  river  which 
skirted  ft,  supposed  to  be  the  easterly  branch  of  Kentucky 
ri'.er,  she  observed  in  the  sand  tracks  of  two  men  that  had 
gone  up  the  river,  and  had  just  returned.  She  concluded 
these  to  have  been  her  pursuers,  which  excited  in  her  breast 
emotions  of  gratitude  and  thankfulness  to  divfne  Frc"'dence 
for  so  timely  a  deliverance.  Being  without  any  provisions, 
having  no  kind  of  weapon  or  tool  to  assist  her  in  getting  any 


MBS.  SCOTT'S  CAPTIVITY. 

and  almost  destitute  of  clothing;  also  knowing  that  a  vas*. 
tract  of  rugged  high  mountains  intervened  between  where  she 
was  and  the  inhabitants  easterly,  and  she  almost  as  ignorant 
as  a  child  of  the  method  of  steering  through  the  woods,  excited 
painful  sensations.  But  certain  death,  either  by  hunger  or 
wild  beasts,  seemed  to  be  better  than  to  be  in  the  power  of 
beings  who  excited  in  her  mind  such  horror.  She  addressed 
Heaven,  and  taking  courage,  proceeded  onward. 

After  travelling  three  days,  she  had  nearly  met  with  the 
Indians,  as  she  supposed,  that  had  been  sent  to  Clinch  river  to 
steal  horses,  but  providentially  hearing  their  approach,  con 
cealed  herself  among  the  cane  until  they  had  passed  by  her. 
This  giving  her  a  fresh  alarm,  and  her  mind  being  filled  with 
consternation,  she  got  lost,  proceeded  backwards  and  forwards 
for  several  days.  At  length  she  came  to  a  river  that  seemed 
to  come  from  the  east.  Concluding  it  was  Sandy  river,  she 
accordingly  resolved  to  trace  it  to  its  source,  which  is  adjacent 
to  the  Clinch  settlement.  After  proceeding  up  the  same 
several  days  she  came  to  the  point  where  it  runs  through  the 
great  Laurel  mountain,  where  there  is  a  prodigious  waterfall 
and  high  craggy  cliffs  along  the  water's  edge  ;  that  way  seemed 
impassable,  the  mountain  steep  and  difficult;  however,  our 
mournful  traveller  concluded  the  latter  way  was  best.  She 
therefore  ascended  for  some  time,  but  coming  to  a  lofty  range 
of  inaccessible  rocks,  she  turned  her  course  towards  the  foot 
of  the  mountain  and  the  river-side.  After  getting  into  a  deep 
gully,  and  passing  over  several  high  steep  rocks,  she  reached 
the  river-side,  where,  to  her  inexpressible  affliction,  she  found 
that  a  perpendicular  rock,  or  rather  one  that  hung  over,  to 
the  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  formed  the  bank.  Here  a 
solemn  pause  ensued.  She  essayed  to  return,  but  the  height 
of  the  steeps  and  rocks  she  had  descended  over  prevented  her. 
She  then  returned  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and  viewing 
the  bottom  of  it  as  the  certain  spot  to  end  all  her  troubles,  or 
remain  on  the  top  to  pine  away  with  hunger,  or  be  devoured 
by  wild  beasts. 

After  serious  meditation  and  devout  exercises,  she  deter 
mined  on  leaping  from  the  height,  and  accordingly  jumped 
off.  Now,  although  the  place  she  had  to  alight  upon  was 
covered  with  uneven  rocks,  not  a  bone  was  broken,  but  being 
exceedingly  stunned  by  the  fall,  she  remained  unable  to  pro 
ceed  for  some  time. 

The  dry  season  had  caused  the  river  to  be  shallow.  She 
travelled  in  it,  and,  where  she  could,  by  its  edge,  until  she  got 
through  the  mountain,  which  she  thought  was  several  miles. 
After  this,  as  she  was  travelling  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  a 


MRS.  SCOTT'S  CAPTIVITY.  341 

venomous  snake  bit  her  on  the  ankle.  She  had  strength  to 
kill  it,  and  knowing  its  kind,  concluded  death  must  soon  over 
take  her. 

By  this  time  Mrs.  Scott  was  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton 
with  fatigue,  hunger,  and  grief.  Probably  this  reduced  state 
of  her  system  saved  her  from  the  effects  of  the  poison  fangs  of 
the  snake ;  be  that  as  it  may,  so  it  was,  that  very  little  pain 
succeeded  the  bite,  and  what  little  swelling  there  was  fell  into 
her  feet. 

Our  wanderer  now  left  the  river,  and  after  proceeding  a 
good  distance  she  came  to  where  the  valley  parted  into  two, 
each  leading  a  different  course.  Here  a  painful  suspense  took 
place  again.  How  truly  forlorn  was  now  the  case  of  this  poor 
woman !  almost  ready  to  sink  down  from  exhaustion,  who 
had  now  the  only  prospect  left  that,  either  in  the  right  or 
wrong  direction,  her  remaining  strength  could  not  carry  her 
long,  nor  but  very  little  way,  and  she  began  to  despair — and 
who  would  not — of  ever  again  beholding  the  face  of  any  human 
creature.  But  the  most  awful  and  seemingly  certain  dangers 
are  sometimes  providentially  averted. 

While  her  mind  was  thus  agitated,  a  beautiful  bird  passed 
close  by  her,  fluttering  slowly  along  near  the  ground,  and  very 
remarkably  took  its  course  onward  in  one  of  the  valleys  before 
spoken  of.  This  drew  her  attention,  and,  while  pondering 
upon  what  it  might  mean,  another  bird  like  the  first,  in  the 
same  manner,  passed  by  her,  and  followed  the  same  valley. 
She  now  took  it  for  granted  that  this  was  her  course  also ; 
and,  wonderful  to  relate,  in  two  days  after  she  had  wandered 
in  sight  of  the  settlement  on  Clinch  river,  called  New  Garden. 
Thus,  in  the  third  month  of  her  captivity,  she  was  unexpect 
edly  though  joyfully  relieved  from  the  dreadful  impending  death 
by  famine.  But  had  she  taken  the  other  valley,  she  never 
could  have,  returned.  The  day  of  her  arrival  at  New  Garden 
was  August  llth. 

Mrs.  Scott  relates  that  the  Indians  told  her  that  the  party 
with  whom  she  was  a  captive  was  composed  of  four  different 
nations ;  two  of  whom,  sho  thinks,  were  Delawares  and  Min- 
goes.  She  further  relates  that,  during  a  full  month  of  her 
wanderings,  viz.  from  July  10th  to  August  llth,  she  had  no 
other  food  to  subsist  upon  but  what  she  derived  from  chewing 
and  swallowing  the  juice  of  young  cane  stalks,  sassafras  leaves, 
and  some  other  plants  of  which  she  knew  not  the  names ;  that 
on  her  journey  she  saw  buffaloes,  elks,  deers,  and  frequently 
bears  and  wolves,  not  one  of  which,  although  seme  passed  very 
near  her,  offered  her  the  least  harm.  One  day  a  bear  came 
near  her  wit^  *  young  fawn  in  his  mouth,  and  on  discovering 
29* 


42 


342 


CAPT.  HUBBELL'S  NARRATIVE. 


her  he  dropped  his  prey  and  ran  off.  Prompted  by  the  keen 
pangs  of  hunger,  she  advanced  to  seize  upon  it,  but  fearing  the 
bear  might  return,  she  turned  away  in  despair,  and  pursued 
her  course ;  thus  sparing  her  feelings,  naturally  averse  to  raw 
flesh,  at  the  expense  of  increasing  hunger. 

Mrs.  Scott  continues^  in  a  low  state  of  health,  and  remains 
unconsolable  for  the  loss  of  her  family,  particularly  bewailing 
the  cruel  death  of  her  little  daughter. 


A    NARRATIVE 

OP  THE  DESPERATE  ENCOUNTER  AND  ESCAPE  OF  CAPT.  WM. 
HUBBELL  FROM  THE  INDIANS  WHILE  DESCENDING  THE 
OHIO  RIVER  IN  A  BOAT  WITH  OTHERS,  IN  THE  YEAR  1791. 
Originally  set  forth  in  the  Western  Review,  and  afterwards  republished  by 
Dr.  Metcalf,  in  his  "  Narratives  of  Indian  Warfare  in  the  West." 

IN  the  year  1791,  while  the  Indians  were  yet  troublesome, 
especially  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  Capt.  William  Hubbell, 
who  had  previously  emigrated  to  Kentucky  from  the  state  of 
Vermont,  and  who,  after  having  fixed  his  family  in  the  neigh- 


*  At  the  time  the  original  narrative  was  wrmen.     It  was  printed  in 


CAPT.  HUBBELL'S  NARRATIVE.  343 

borhood  of  Frankfort,  then  a  frontier  settlement,  had  been  com 
pelled  to  go  to  the  eastward  on  business,  was  now  a  second 
time  on  his  way  to  this  country.  On  one  of  the  tributary 
streams  of  the  Monongahela,  he  procured  a  flat-bottomed  boat, 
and  embarked  in  company  with  Mr.  Daniel  Light  and  Mr. 
Wm.  Plascut  and  his  family,  consisting  of  a  wife  and  eight 
children,  destined  for  Limestone,  Kentucky. 

On  their  passage  down  the  river,  and  soon  after  passing 
Pittsburgh,  they  saw  evident  traces  of  Indians  along  the  banks, 
and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  a  boat  which  they 
overtook,  and  which,  through  carelessness,  was  suffered  to  run 
aground  on  an  island,  became  a  prey  to  these  merciless  sa 
vages.  Though  Capt.  Hubbell  and  his  party  stopped  some 
time  for  it  in  a  lower  part  of  the  river,  it  did  not  arrive,  and  it 
has  never,  to  their  knowledge,  been  heard  of. 

Before  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  great  Kenhawa  they 
had,  by  several  successive  additions,  increased  their  number  to 
twenty  persons,  consisting  of  nine  men,  three  women,  and 
eight  children.  The  men,  besides  those  mentioned  above, 
were  one  John  Storer,  an  Irishman  and  a  Dutchman  whose 
names  are  not  recollected,  Messrs.  Ray  and  Tucker,  and  a  Mr. 
Kilpatrick,  whose  two  daughters  also  were  of  the  party.  In 
formation  received  at  GafMopolis  confirmed  the  expectation, 
which  appearances  had  previously  raised,  of  a  serious  conflict 
with  a  large  body  of  Indians ;  and  as  Capt.  Hubbell  had  been 
regularly  appointed  commander  of  the  boat,  every  possible 
preparation  was  made  for  a  formidable  and  successful  resist 
ance  of  the  anticipated  attack.  The  nine  men  were  divided 
into  three  watches  for  the  night,  which  were  alternately  to 
continue  awake,  and  be  on  the  lookout  for  two  hours  at  a  time. 

The  arms  on  board,  which  consisted  principally  of  old  mus 
kets  much  out  of  order,  were  collected,  put  in  the  best  possible 
condition  for  service,  and  loaded.  At  about  sunset  on  that 
day,  the  23d  of  March,  1791,  our  party  overtook  a  fleet  of  six 
boats  descending  the  river  in  company,  and  intended  to  have 
continued  with  them;  but  as  their  passengers  seemed  to  be 
more  disposed  to  dancing  than  fighting,  and  as,  soon  after 
dark,  notwithstanding  the  remonstrances  of  Capt.  Hubbell, 
they  commenced  fiddling  and  drinking,  instead  of  preparing 
their  arms  and  taking  the  necessary  rest  preparatory  to  battle, 
it  was  wisely  considered,  by  Capt.  Hubbell  and  his  company, 
far  more  hazardous  to  have  such  companions  than  to  proceed 
alone.  Hence  it  was  determined  to  press  rapidly  forward  by 
aid  of  the  oars,  and  to  leave  those  thoughtless  fellow-travellers 
behind.  One  of  the  boats,  however,  belonging  to  the  fleet, 
commanded  by  a  Capt.  Greathouse,  adopted  the  same  plan, 


344  CAPT.   HUBBELL'S  NARRATIVE. 

and  for  a  while  kept  up  with  Capt.  Hubbell,  but  all  its  crew  at 
length  falling  asleep,  that  boat  also  ceased  to  be  propelled  by 
the  oars,  and  Capt.  Hubbell  and  his  party  proceeded  steadily 
forward  alone.  Early  in  the  night  a  canoe  was  dimly  seen 
floating  down  the  river,  in  which  were  probably  Indians  recon- 
noitering,  and  other  evident  indications  were  observed  of  the 
neighborhood  and  hostile  intentions  of  a  formidable  party  of 
savages. 

It  was  now  agreed  that  should  the  attack,  as  was  probable, 
be  deferred  tilJ  morning,  every  man  should  be  up  before  the 
dawn,  in  order  to  make  as  great  a  show  as  possible  of  numbers 
and  of  strength  ;  and  that,  whenever  the  action  should  take 
place,  the  womun  and  children  should  lie  down  on  the  cabin 
floor,  and  be  protected  as  well  as  they  could  by  the  trunks  and 
other  baggage,  which  might  be  placed  around  them.  In  this 
perilous  situation  they  continued  during  the  night,  and  the  cap 
tain,  who  had  not  slept  more  than  one  hour  since  he  left  Pitts 
burgh,  was  too  deeply  impressed  with  the  imminent  danger 
which  surrounded  them  to  obtain  any  rest  at  that  time. 

Just  as  daylight  began  to  appear  in  the  east,  and  before  the 
men  were  up  and  nt  their  posts  agreeably  to  arrangement,  a  voice, 
at  some  distance  below  them,  in  a  plaintive  tone,  repeatedly 
solicited  them  to  come  on  shore,  as  there  were  some  white 
persons  who  wished  to  obtain  a  passage  in  their  boat.  This 
the  captain  very  naturally  and  correctly  concluded  to  be  an 
Indian  artifice,  and  its  only  effect  was  to  rouse  the  men,  and 
place  every  one  on  his  guard.  The  voice  of  entreaty  was  soon 
changed  into  the  language  of  indignation  and  insult,  and  the 
sound  of  distant  paddles  announced  the  savage  foe.  At  length 
three  Indian  canoes  were  seen  through  the  mist  of  the 
morning,  rapidly  advancing.  With  the  utmost  coolness  the 
captain  and  his  companions  prepared  to  receive  them.  The 
chairs,  tables,  and  other  incumbrances  were  thrown  into  the 
river,  in  order  to  clear  the  deck  for  action.  Every  man  took 
his  position,  and  was  ordered  not  to  fire  till  the  savages  had 
approached  so  near  that,  (to  use  the  words  of  Capt.  Hubbell,) 
"  the  flash  from  the  guns  might  singe  their  eyebrows ;"  and  a 
special  caution  was  given  that  the  men  should  lire  successively, 
so  that  there  might  be  no  interval. 

On  the  arrival  of  tho  canoes,  they  were  found  to  contain 
about  twenty- five  or  thirly  Indians  each.  As  soon  as  they  had 
approached  within  the  reach  of  musket-shot,  a  general  fire  was 
given  from  one  of  them,  which  wounded  Mr.  Tucker  through 
the  hip  so  severely  that  his  leg  hung-  only  by  the  flesh,  and 
shot  Mr.  Light  just  below  his  ribs.  The  three  canoes  placed 
themselves  at  the  how,  stern,  and  on  the  right  side  of  the  beat, 


CAPT.  HUBBELL'S  NARRATIVE.  345 

so  that  they  had  an  opportunity  of  raking  in  every  direction. 
The  fire  now  commenced  from  the  boat,  and  had  a  powerful 
effect  in  checking  the  confidence  and  fury  of  the  Indians.  The 
captain,  after  firing  his  own  gun,  took  up  that  of  one  of  the 
wounded  men,  raised  it  to  his  shoulder,  and  was  about  to  dis 
charge  it,  when  a  ball  came  and  took  away  the  lock  of  it.  He 
coolly  turned  around,  seized  a  brand  of  fire  from  the  kettle 
which  had  served  for  a  caboose,  and  applying  it  to  the  pan, 
discharged  the  piece  with  effect.  A  very  regular  and  constant 
fire  was  now  kept  up  on  both  sides.  The  captain  was  just  in 
the  act  of  raising  his  gun  a  third  time,  when  a  ball  passed 
through  his  right  arm,  and  for  a  moment  disabled  him. 
Scarcely  had  he  recovered  from  the  shock,  and  re-acquired  the 
use  of  his  hand,  which  had  been  suddenly  drawn  up  by  the 
wound,  when  he  observed  the  Indians  in  one  of  the  canoes  just 
about  to  board  the  boat  in  the  bow,  where  the  horses  were 
placed  belonging  to  the  company.  So  near  had  they  ap 
proached,  that  some  of  them  had  actually  seized  with  their 
hands  the  side  of  the  boat.  Severely  wounded  as  he  was, 
he  caught  up  a  pair  of  horseman's  pistols  and  rushed  forward 
to  repel  the  attempt  at  boarding.  On  his  approach  the  Indians 
fell  back,  and  he  discharged  one  of  the  pistols  with  effect  at 
the  foremost  man.  After  firing  the  second  pistol,  he  found 
himself  with  useless  arms,  and  was  compelled  to  retreat;  but 
stepping  back  upon  a  pile  of  small  wood  which  had  been  pre 
pared  for  burning  in  the  kettle,  the  thought  struck  him  that  it 
might  be  made  use  of  in  repelling  the  foe,  and  he  continued 
for  some  time  to  strike  with  it  so  forcibly  and  actively  that 
they  were  unable  to  enter  the  boat,  and  at  length  he  wounded 
one  of  them  so  severely  that  with  a  yell  they  suddenly  gave 
way. 

All  the  canoes  instantly  discontinued  the  contest,  and  di 
rected  their  course  to  Capt.  Greathouse's  boat,  which  was  then 
in  sight.  Here  a  striking  contrast  was  exhibited  to  the  firm 
ness  and  intrepidity  which  had  just  been  displayed.  Instead 
of  resisting  the  attack,  the  people  on  board  of  that  boat  retired 
to  the  cabin  in  dismay.  The  Indians  entered  it  without  oppo 
sition,  and  rowed  it  to  the  shore,  where  they  instantly  killed 
the  captain  and  a  lad  of  about  fourteen  years  of  age.  The 
women  they  placed  in  the  centre  of  their  canoes,  and  manning 
them  with  fresh  hands,  again  pursued  Capt.  Hubbell.  A 
melancholy  alternative  now  presented  itself  to  these  brave  but 
almost  desponding  men,  either  to  fall  a  prey  to  the  savages 
themselves,  or  to  run  the  risk  of  shooting  the  women  who  had 
been  placed  in  the  canoes  in  the  hope  of  deriving  protection 
from  their  presence.  But  "  self-preservation  is  the  first  law  of 


346  CAPT.  HTJBBELL'S  NARRATIVE. 

nature,"  and  the  captain  very  justly  remarked  "  that  there 
would  not  be  much  humanity  in  preserving  their  lives  at  such 
a  sacrifice,  merely  that  they  might  become  victims  of  savage 
cruelty  at  some  subsequent  period." 

There  were  now  but  four  men  left  on  board  of  Capt.  Hub- 
bell's  boat  capable  of  defending  it,  and  the  captain  himself 
was  severely  wounded  in  two  places.  The  second  attack, 
nevertheless,  was  resisted  with  almost  incredible  firmness  and 
vigor.  Whenever  the  Indians  would  rise  to  fire,  their  oppo 
nents  would  commonly  give  them  the  first  shot,  which,  in 
almost  every  instance,  would  prove  fatal.  Notwithstanding 
the  disparity  of  numbers,  and  the  exhausted  condition  of  the 
defenders  of  the  boat,  the  Indians  at  length  appeared  to  des 
pair  of  success,  and  the  canoes  successively  returned  to  the 
shore.  Just  as  the  last  one  was  departing,  Capt.  Hubbell 
called  to  the  Indian  who  was  standing  in  the  stern,  and,  on  his 
turning  round,  discharged  his  piece  at  him.  When  the  smoke, 
which  for  a  moment  obscured  their  vision,  was  dissipated,  he 
was  seen  lying  on  his  back,  and  appeared  to  be  severely 
wounded,  perhaps  mortally. 

Unfortunately,  the  boat  now  drifted  near  to  the  shore,  where 
the  Indians  had  collected,  and  a  large  concourse,  probably 
between  four  and  five  hundred,  were  seen  running  down  on 
the  bank.  Ray  and  Plascut,  the  only  men  remaining  unhurt, 
were  placed  at  the  oars ;  and  as  the  boat  was  not  more  than 
twenty  yards  from  the  shore,  it  was  deemed  prudent  for  all  to 
lie  down  in  as  safe  a  position  as  possible,  and  attempt  to  push 
forward  with  the  utmost  practicable  rapidity.  While  they 
continued  in  this  situation,  nine  balls  were  shot  into  one  oar, 
and  ten  into  another,  without  wounding  the  rowers,  who  were 
hid  from  view  and  protected  by  the  side  of  the  boat  and  blank 
ets  in  the  stern.  During  this  dreadful  exposure  to  the  fire  of 
the  savages,  which  continued  about  twenty  minutes,  Mr.  Kil- 
patrick  observed  a  particular  Indian,  whom  he  thought  a 
favorable  mark  for  his  rifle,  and,  notwithstanding  the  solemn 
warning  of  Capt.  Hubbell,  rose  up  to  shoot  him.  He  imme 
diately  received  a  ball  in  his  mouth,  which  passed  out  at  the 
back  part  of  his  head,  and  was  also,  almost  at  the  same  instant, 
shot  through  the  heart.  He  fell  down  among  the  horses  that 
were  about  the  same  time  shot  down  likewise ;  and  thus  was 
presented  to  his  afflicted  daughters  and  fellow-travellers,  who 
were  witnesses  of  the  awful  occurrence,  a  spectacle  of  horror 
which  we  need  not  further  attempt  to  describe. 

The  boat  was  now  providentially  and  suddenly  carried  out 
into  the  middle  of  the  stream,  and  taken  by  the  current  be 
yond  the  reach  of  the  enemy's  balls.  Our  little  band,  reduced 


CAPT.  HUBBELL'S  NARRATIVE.  347 

as  they  were  in  numbers,  wounded,  afflicted,  and  almost  ex 
hausted  by  fatigue,  were  still  unsubdued  in  spirit,  and  being 
assembled  in  all  their  strength,  men,  women,  and  children, 
with  an  appearance  of  triumph,  gave  three  hearty  cheers, 
calling  the  Indians  to  come  on  again  if  they  were  fond  of 
sport. 

Thus  ended  this  awful  conflict,  in  which,  out  of  nine  men, 
two  only  escaped  unhurt.  Tucker  and  Kilpatric  were  killed 
on  the  spot,  Storer  was  mortally  wounded,  and  died  on  his 
arrival  at  Limestone,  and  all  the  rest,  excepting  Ray  and  Plas- 
cut,  were  severely  wounded.  The  women  and  children  were 
all  uninjured,  except  a  little  son  of  Mr.  Plascut,  who,  after  the 
battle  was  over,  came  to  the  captain,  and  with  great  coolness 
requested  him  to  take  a  ball  out  of  his  head.  On  examination 
it  appeared  that  a  bullet,  which  had  passed  through  the  side 
of  the  boat,  had  penetrated  the  forehead  of  this  little  hero, 
and  remained  under  the  skin.  The  captain  took  it  out,  and  sup 
posing  this  was  all,  as  in  good  reason  he  might,  was  about  to 
bestow  his  attention  on  some  other  momentous  affair,  when  the 
little  boy  observed,  "  That  is  riot  all,  captain,"  and  raising  his 
arm,  exhibited  a  piece  of  bone  at  the  point  of  his  elbow,  which 
had  been  shot  off,  and  hung  only  by  the  skin.  •His  mother,  to 
whom  the  whole  affair  seems  before  to  have  been  unknown, 
but  being  now  present,  exclaimed,  "  Why  did  you  not  tell  me 
of  this?"  "  Because,"  replied  the  son,  "the  captain  ordered 
us  to  be  silent  during  the  fight,  and  I  thought  you  would  make 
a  noise  if  I  told  you  of  it." 

The  boat  made  the  best  of  its  way  down  the  river,  and  the 
object  was  to  reach  Limestone  that  night.  The  captain's  arm 
had  bled  profusely,  and  he  was  compelled  to  close  the  sleeve 
of  his  coat  in  order  to  retain  the  blood  and  stop  its  effusion. 

In  this  situation,  tormented  by  excruciating  pain,  and  faint 
through  loss  of  blood,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  steering 
the  boat  with  his  left  arm  till  about  ten  o'clock  that  night, 
when  he  was  relieved  by  Mr.  Wm.  Brooks,  who  resided  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  and  who  was  induced  by  the  calls  of  the 
suffering  party  to  come  out  to  their  assistance.  By  his  aid, 
and  that  of  some  other  persons  who  were  in  the  same  manner 
brought  to  their  relief,  they  were  enabled  to  reach  Limestone 
about  twelve  o'clock  that  night. 

Immediately  on  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Brooks,  Capt.  Hubbell, 
relieved  from  labor  and  responsibility,  sunk  under  the  weight 
of  pain  and  fatigue,  and  become  for  a  while  totally  insensible. 
When  the  boat  reached  Limestone,  he  found  himself  unable  to 
walk,  and  was  obliged  to  be  carried  up  to  the  tavern.  Here 


348  CAPT.  HUBBELL'S  NARRATIVE. 

he  had  his  wound  dressed,  and  continued  several  days,  unti 
he  acquired  sufficient  strength  to  proceed  homewards. 

On  the  arrival  of  our  party  at  Limestone,  they  found  a  con 
siderable  force  of  armed  men  about  to  march  against  the  same 
Indians,  from  whose  attacks  they  had  so  severely  suffered. 
They  now  learned  that,  the  Sunday  preceding,  the  same  party 
of  savages  had  cut  off  a  detachment  of  men  ascending  the  Ohio 
from  fort  Washington,  at  the  mouth  of  Licking  river,  and  had 
killed  with  their  tomahawks,  without  firing  a  gun,  twenty-one 
out  of  twenty-two  men,  of  which  the  detachment  consisted. 

Crowds  of  people,  as  might  be  expected,  came  to  witness 
the  boat  which  had  been  the  scene  of  so  much  heroism,  suffer 
ing,  and  horrid  carnage,  and  to  visit  the  resolute  little  band  by 
whom  it  had  been  so  gallantly  and  successfully  defended.  On 
examination  it  was  found  that  the  sides  of  the  boat  were  lite 
rally  filled  with  bullets  and  with  bullet-holes.  There  was 
scarcely  a  space  of  two  feet  square,  in  the  part  above  water, 
which  had  not  either  a  ball  remaining  in  it  or  a  hole  through 
which  a  ball  had  passed.  Some  persons,  who  had  the  curi 
osity  to  count  the  number  of  holes  in  the  blankets  which 
were  hung  up  as  curtains  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  affirmed 
that  in  the  sp%ce  of  five  feet  square  there  were  one  hundred 
and  twenty-two.  Four  horses  out  of  five  were  killed,  and  the 
escape  of  the  fifth  amidst  such  a  shower  of  balls  appears  almost 
miraculous. 

The  day  after  the  arrival  of  Capt.  Hubbell  and  his  com 
panions,  the  five  remaining  boats,  which  they  had  passed  on 
the  night  preceding  the  battle,  reached  Limestone.  Those  on 
board  remarked  that  during  the  action  they  distinctly  saw  the 
flashes,  but  could  not  hear  the  reports  of  the  guns.  The  In 
dians,  it  appears,  had  met  with  too  formidable  a  resistance 
from  a  single  beat  to  attack  a  fleet,  and  suffered  them  to  pass 
unmolested:  and  since  that  time  it  is  believed  that  no  boat 
has  been  assailed  by  Indians  on  the  Ohio. 

The  force  which  marched  out  to  disperse  this  formidable 
body  of  savages  discovered  several  Indians  dead  on  the  shore 
near  the  scene  of  action.  They  also  found  the  bodies  of  Capt. 
Greathouse  and  several  others,  men,  women,  and  children, 
who  had  been  on  board  of  his  boat.  Most  of  them  appeared 
to  have  been  whipped  to  death,  as  they  were  found  stripped, 
tied  to  trees,  and  marked  with  the  appearance  of  lashes,  and 
large  rods  which  seemed  to  have  been  worn  with  use  were 
observed  lying  near  them. 

Such  is  the  plain  narrative  of  a  transaction  that  may  serve 
as  a  specimen  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  to  which,  but  a 
few  years  since,  the  inhabitants  of  this  now  flourishing  and 
beautiful  country  were  constantly  exposed. 


319 


AN    ACCOUNT 

OF  THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  MASSY  HERBESON,  AND  HER  FAMILY, 
WHO  WERE  TAKEN  PRISONERS  BY  A  PARTY  OF  INDIANS. 
GIVEN  ON  OATH  BEFORE  JOHN  WILKINS,  ESQ.,  ONE  OF 
THE  JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE  FOR  THE  COMMONWEALTH 
OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Pittsburgh,  May  28,  1792, 

MASSY  HERBESON,  on  her  oath,  according  to  law,  being 
taken  before  John  Wilkins,  Esq.,  one  of  the  commonwealth's 
justices  of  the  peace  in  and  for  the  county  of  Alleghany,  de- 
poseth  and  saith,  that  on  the  22d  day  of  this  instant  she  was 
taken  from  her  own  house,  within  two  hundred  yards  of  Reed's 
block-house,  which  is  called  twenty-five  miles  from  Pittsburgh ; 
her  husband,  being  one  of  the  spies,  was  from  home ;  two  of 
the  scouts  had  lodged  with  her  that  night,  but  had  left  her 
house  about  sunrise,  in  order  to  go  to  the  block-house,  and  had 
left  the  door  standing  wide  open.  Shortly  after  the  two  scouts 
went  away,  a  number  of  Indians  came  into  the  house  and  drew 
her  out  of  bed  by  the  feet ;  the  two  eldest  children,  who  also 
lay  in  another  bed,  were  drawn  out  in  the  same  manner ;  a 
younger  child,  about  one  year  old,  slept  with  the  deponent. 
30 


350  HERBESON,   1792. 

The  Indians  then  scrambled  about  the  articles  in  the  house ; 
when  they  were  at  this  work,  the  deponent  went  out  of  the 
house,  and  hollowed  to  the  people  in  the  block -house  ;  one  of 
the  Indians  then  ran  up  and  stopped  her  mouth,  another  ran 
up  with  his  tomahawk  drawn,  and  a  third  ran  and  seized  the 
tomahawk  and  called  her  his  squaw ;  this  last  Indian  claimed 
her  as  his,  and  continued  by  her.  About  fifteen  of  the  Indians 
then  ran  down  towards  the  block-house,  and  fired  their  guns 
at  the  block  and  store  house,  in  consequence  of  which  one  sol 
dier  was  killed,  and  another  wounded,  one  having  been  at  the 
spring,  and  the  other  in  coming  or  looking  out  of  the  store 
house.  This  deponent  then  told  the  Indians  there  were  about 
forty  men  in  the  block-house,  and  each  man  had  two  guns;  the 
Indians  then  went  to  them  that  were  firing  at  the  block-house, 
and  brought  them  back.  They  then  began  to  drive  the  depo 
nent  and  her  children  away ;  but  a  boy  about  three  years  okl, 
being  unwilling  to  leave  the  house,  they  took  by  the  heels,  and 
dashed  it  against  the  house,  then  stabbed  and  scalped  it. 
They  then  took  the  deponent  and  the  two  other  children  to  the 
top  of  the  hill,  where  they  stopped  until  they  tied  up  the  plun 
der  they  had  got.  While  they  were  busy  about  this,  the  de 
ponent  counted  them,  and  the  number  amounted  to  thirty-two, 
including  two  white  men  that  were  with  them,  painted  like 
the  Indians. 

That  several  of  the  Indians  could  speak  Englijh,  and  that 
she  knew  three  or  four  of  them  very  well,  having  often  seen 
them  go  up  and  down  the  Alleghany  river ;  two  of  them  she 
knew  to  be  Senecas,  and  two  Murisees,  who  had  got  their  guns 
mended  by  her  husband  about  two  years  ago.  That  they  sent 
two  Indians  with  her,  and  the  others  took  their  course  towards 
Puckty.  That  she,  the  children,  and  the  two  Indians  had  not 
gone  above  two  hundred  yards,  when  the  Indians  caught  two 
of  her  uncle's  horses,  put  her  and  the  youngest  child  on  one, 
and  one  of  the  Indians  and  the  other  child  on  the  other.  That 
the  two  Indians  then  took  her  and  the  children  to  the  Allegha 
ny  river,  and  took  them  over  in  bark  canoes,  as  they  could  not 
get  the  horses  to  swim  the  river.  After  they  had  crossed  the 
river,  the  oldest  child,  a  boy  of  about  five  years  of  age,  began 
to  mourn  for  his  brother ;  one  of  the  Indians  then  tomahawked 
and  scalped  him.  That  they  travelled  all  day  very  hard,  and 
that  night  arrived  at  a  large  camp  covered  with  bark,  which, 
by  appearance,  might  hold  fifty  men ;  that  the  camp  appeared 
to  have  been  occupied  some  time,  it  was  very  much  beaten,  and 
large  beaten  paths  went  out  in  different  directions  from  it;  that 
night  they  took  her  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  camp, 
into  a  large  dark  bottom,  bound  her  arms,  gave  her  some  bed 


HERBES01S,   1792.  351 

clothes,  and  lay  down  one  on  each  side  of  her.  That  the  next 
morning  they  took  her  into  a  thicket  on  the  hill-side,  and  one 
remained  with  her  till  the  middle  of  the  day,  while  the  other 
went  to  watch  the  path,  lest  some  white  people  should  follow 
them.  They  then  exchanged  places  during  the  remainder  of 
the  day.  She  got  a  piece  of  dry  venison,  about  the  bulk  of  an 
egp1.  that  day,  and  a  piece  about  the  same  size  the  day  they 
were  marching.  That  evening,  (Wednesday,  the  23d,)  they 
moved  her  to  a  new  place,  and  secured  her  as  the  night  before. 
During  the  day  of  the  23d,  she  made  several  attempts  to  get 
the  Indian's  gun  or  tomahawk,  that  was  guarding  her,  and, 
could  she  have  got  either,  she  would  have  put  him  to  death. 
She  was  nearly  detected  in  trying  to  get  the  tomahawk  from 
his  belt. 

The  next  morning  (Thursday)  one  of  the  Indians  went  out 
as  on  the  day  before  to  watch  the  path.  The  other  lay  down 
and  fell  asleep.  When  she  found  he  was  sleeping,  she  stole 
her  short  gown,  handkerchief  and  a  child's  frock,  and  then  made 
her  escape.  The  sun  was  then  about  half  an  hour  high.  That 
she  took  her  course  from  the  Alleghany,  in  order  to  deceive  the 
Indians,  as  they  would  naturally  pursue  her  that  way ;  that 
day  she  travelled  along  Conequenessing  creek.  The  next  day 
she  altered  her  course,  and,  as  she  believes,  fell  upon  the  waters 
of  Pine  creek,  which  empties  into  the  Alleghany.  Thinking 
this  not  her  best  course,  took  over  some  dividing  ridges,  fell 
in  on  the  heads  of  Squaw  run,  she  lay  on  a  dividing  ridge  on 
Friday  night,  and  on  Saturday  came  to  Squaw  run,  continued 
down  the  run  until  an  Indian,  or  some  other  person,  shot  at  a 
deer ;  she  saw  the  person  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
from  her,  the  deer  running  and  the  dog  pursuing  it,  which,  from 
the  appearance,  she  supposed  to  be  an  Indian  dog. 

She  then  altered  her  course,  but  again  came  to  the  same  run, 
and  continued  down  it  until  she  got  so  tired  that  she  was 
obliged  to  lie  down,  it  having  rained  on  her  all  that  day  and 
the  night  before.  She  lay  there  that  night;  it  rained  constantly. 
On  Sunday  morning  she  proceeded  down  the  run  until  she 
came  to  the  Alleghany  river,  and  continued  down  the  river  till 
she  came  opposite  to  Carter's  house,  on  the  inhabited  side, 
where  she  made  a  noise,  and  James  Closier  brought  her  over 
the  river  to  Carter's  house. 

This  deponent  further  says  that,  in  conversing  with  one  of 
the  Indians,  that  could  talk  English  very  well,  which  she  sus 
pects  to  be  George  Jelloway,  he  asked  her  if  she  knew  the 
prisoner  that  was  taken  by  Jeffers  and  his  Senecas,  and  in  jail 
in  Pittsburgh.  She  answered  no ;  he  said,  you  lie.  She  again 
said  she  knew  nothing  about  him ;  he  said  she  did,  that  he  was 


352  SERGEANT  MUNSON'S  CAPTIVITY. 

lj 

a  spy,  and  a  great  captain ;  that  he  took  Butler's  scalp,  and 
that  they  would  have  him  or  twenty  scalps;  he  again  said  tha*. 
they  would  exchange  for  him ;  that  he  and  two  more  were  sent 
out  to  see  what  the  Americans  were  doing ;  that  they  came 
round  from  Detroit  to  Venango.  The  Indian  took  paper,  and 
showed  her  that  he,  at  fort  Pitt,  could  write  and  draw  on  it ; 
he  also  asked  her  if  a  campaign  was  going  out  against  the  In 
dians  this  summer ;  she  said  no.  He  called  her  a  liar,  and 
said  they  were  going  out,  and  that  the  Indians  would  serve 
them  as  they  did  last  year;  he  also  said  the  English  had  guns, 
ammunition,  &c.  to  give  them  to  go  to  war,  and  that  they  had 
given  them  plenty  last  year ;  this  deponent  also  says  that  she 
saw  one  of  the  Indians  have  Capt.  Crib's  sword,  which  she 
well  knew.  That  one  of  the  Indians  asked  her  if  she  knew 
Thomas  Girty ;  she  said  she  did  ;  he  then  said  that  Girty  lived 
near  fort  Pitt ;  that  he  was  a  good  man,  but  not  as  good  as  his 
brother  at  Detroit ;  but  that  his  wife  was  a  bad  woman ;  she 
tells  lies  on  the  Indians,  and  is  a  friend  to  America.  Sworn 
before  me  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

JOHN  WILKINS. 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE  CAPTIVITY  AND  ESCAPE  OF  SERGEANT  LENT  MUN- 
SON,  WHO  FELL  INTO  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  WESTERN  IN 
DIANS  AT  THE  TIME  OF  LIEUT.  LOWRY'S  DEFEAT. 

As  Lieut.  Lowry  and  ensign  Boyd,  with  about  one  hundred 
men,  were  escorting  two  hundred  and  fifty  pack  horses  with 
provisions  from  fort  St.  Clair  to  General  Wayne's  camp,  (six 
miles  in  advance  of  fort  Jefferson,)  they  were  furiously  assailed 
by  about  half  their  number  of  concealed  Indians,  and  totally 
defeated.  They  had  encamped  four  miles  on  their  journey  on 
the  night  of  the  16th  of  October,  1793,  and  were  sufficiently 
warned  during  the  whole  night  of  what  they  had  to  undergo  at 
early  dawn.  However,  no  attack  was  made  until  the  detach 
ment  was  about  ready  to  march  on  the  morning  of  the  17th. 
At  this  juncture  the  Indians  rushed  upon  them  with  great  fury, 
and  after  a  short  but  bloody  engagement  the  whites  were  dis 
persed  in  every  direction.  In  this  onset  Lieut.  Lowry  and 
ensigr  Boyd  both  fell  mortally  wounded,  and  about  twenty  of 
their  men  were  among  the  slam.  The  rest  of  this  unfortunate 
escort  excepting  eleven,  who  were  taken  prisoners,  got  back  to 


SERGEANT  MUNSON'S  CAPTIVITY.  353 

fort  St.  Clair.  To  the  smallness  of  the  number  of  the  Indians 
is  to  be  attributed  the  escape  of  any. 

Sergeant  Munson  was  one  of  the  eleven  prisoners,  and  was 
hurried  off  with  his  companions  towards  the  country  of  the 
Ottawas,  to  which  nation  of  Indians  this  party  belonged.  They 
had  not  proceeded  far  when  one  of  the  prisoners,  being  but  a 
boy,  and  weakly,  was  murdered  and  left  on  the  way.  The 
remaining  ten  were  then  distributed  among  their  captors. 
These  all  had  their  heads  shaved,  which  among  the  Ottawas 
denoted  they  were  to  serve  as  slaves. 

The  residence  of  these  Indians  was  upon  the  river  then  called 
the  Maumee,  since,  the  Miami  of  the  lakes,  about  thirty  miles 
from  its  mouth  at  lake  Erie.  Here  Mr.  Munson  was  kept 
until  the  next  June,  performing  the  drudgery  of  the  Indians, 
without  anything  very  remarkable,  for  eight  months,  at  the  end 
of  which  time  he  made  his  escape  in  the  following  manner : — 
He  had  learned  so  much  of  their  language  that  he  could  un 
derstand  much  of  their  conversation,  and  he  now  learned  that 
they  were  highly  elated  at  the  prospect  of  meeting  and  cutting 
off  the  army  of  Gen.  Wayne,  as  they  had  that  of  Harmer  and 
St.  Clair  before.  They  boasted  that  "  they  were  fifteen  hun 
dred  strong,  and  that  they  would  soon  cut  Wayne's  army  to 
pieces."  They  talked  with  the  utmost  contempt  of  the  whites; 
said  they  lied  about  their  numbers,  and  that  "  their  armies  were 
made  up  of  cowards  and  boys." 

The  warriors  were  now  preparing  to  march  to  the  Au  Glaize, 
to  make  a  stand  against  Gen.  Wayne,  and  Mr.  Munson  anx 
iously  awaited  their  departure,  hoping  by  their  absence  lie  might 
take  advantage  and  escape.  His  wishes  were  soon  gratified ; 
for  on  the  12th  of  June,  1794,  the  warriors  left  the  village,  and 
he  took  every  precaution  for  flight.  Accordingly,  five  days 
after,  having  prepared  a  canoe  several  miles  below  the  village, 
on  the  river,  under  pretence  of  a  hunting  expedition  he  escaped 
to  it,  and  in  the  night  made  all  the  exertions  he  was  master  of 
to  reach  the  lake,  which  he  did  in  two  nights ;  not  daring  to 
sail  during  the  day,  for  fear  of  discovery,  but  slyly  drawing  up 
his  canoe  at  the  approach  of  morning,  patiently  waited  until 
the  next  night.  And  thus  he  found  his  way  to  Niagara,  and 
thence  to  his  friends  in  Connecticut,  without  material  accident, 
where  he  arrived  towards  the  end  of  July,  1794,  after  eight 
months'  captivity. 


23 


354 


OS  E  0  LA 


355 


NARRATIVE 

OP  THE  ESCAPE  OF  RANSOM  CLARK,  (OF  LIVINGSTON  COUN 
TY,  NEW  YORK.,)  FROM  THE  MASSACRE  IN  WHICH  MAJOtt 
DADE  AND  HIS  COMMAND  WERE  CUT  OFF  BY  THE  SEMI- 
NOLE  INDIANS,  IN  FLORIDA,  on  the  28th  Dec.  1835 ;  as  communi 
cated  by  himself,  while  on  a  visit  to  Boston  in  the  summer  of  1837,  to  the 
editor  of  the  Morning  Post. 


[A  full  and  particular  history  of  the  Florida  War  will  be  found  in  my* 
Book  of  the  Indians,  together  with  other  Indian  affairs. — Ed.] 

OUR  detachment,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
men,  under  command  of  Major  Bade,  started  from  fort  Brooke, 
Tampa  Bay,  on  the  23d  of  December,  and  arrived  at  the  scene 
of  action  about  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  28th.  It 
was  on  the  edge  of  a  pond,  three  miles  from  the  spot  where  we 
had  bivouacked  on  the  night  previous.  The  pond  was  sur 
rounded  by  tall  grass,  brush  and  small  trees.  A  moment  be 
fore  we  were  surprised,  Major  Bade  said  to  us,  "  We  have  now 
got  through  all  danger ;  keep  up  good  heart,  and  when  we  get 
to  fort  King,  I  '11  give  you  three  days  for  Christmas." 

At  this  time  we  were  in  a  path  or  trail  on  the  border  of  the 
pond,  and  the  first  notice  that  we  received  of  the  presence  of 
the  enemy  was  the  discharge  of  a  rifle  by  their  chief,  as  a  sig 
nal  to  commence  the  attack.  The  pond  was  on  our  right,  and 
the  Indians  were  scattered  round,  in  a  semicircle,  on  our  left, 
in  the  rear  and  in  advance,  reaching  at  the  two  latter  points 
to  the  edge  of  the  pond ;  but  leaving  an  opening  for  our  en 
trance  on  the  path,  and  a  similar  opening  on  the  other  extrem 
ity  for  the  egress  of  our  advance  guard,  which  was  permitted 
to  pass  through  without  being  fired  on,  and  of  course  uncon 
scious  of  the  ambuscade  through  which  they  had  marched. 
At  the  time  of  the  attack  this  guard  Avas  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
advance,  the  main  body  following  in  column  two  deep.  The 
chief's  rifle  was  followed  by  a  general  discharge  from  his  men, 
and  Major  Dade,  Captain  Frazier  and  Lieut.  Mudge,  together 
with  several  non-com  missioned  officers  and  privates,  were 
brought  down  by  the  first  volley.  Our  rear  guard  had  a  six- 
pounder,  which,  as  soon  as  possible,  was  hauled  up,  and  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  ground  occupied  by  the  unseen  enemy,  se 
creted  among  the  grass,  brush,  and  trees.  The  discharge  of 
the  cannon  checked  and  made  them  fall  back  for  about  half  an 
hour.  About  twelve  of  us  advanced  and  brought  in  our  dead. 
Among  the  wounded  was  Lieut.  Mudge,  who  was  speechless. 


356         ESCAPE  OF  RANSOM  CLARK. 

We  set  him  up  against  a  tree,  and  he  was  found  there  two 
months  after,  when  Gen.  Gaines  sent  a  detachment  to  bury  the 
bodies  of  our  soldiers.  All  hands  then  commenced  throwing 
up  a  small  triangular  breastwork  of  logs  ;  but,  just  as  we  had 
raised  it  about  two  feet,  the  Indians  returned  and  renewed  the 
engagement.  A  part  of  our  troops  fought  within  the  breast 
work,  and  a  part  outside.  I  remained  outside  till  I  received  a 
ball  in  my  right  arm,  and  another  near  my  right  temple,  which 
came  out  at  the  top  of  my  head.  I  next  received  a  shot  in  my 
thigh,  which  brought  me  down  on  my  side,  and  I  then  got  into 
the  breastwork.  We  gave  them  forty-nine  discharges  from  the 
cannon ;  and  while  loading  for  the  fiftieth,  and  the  last  shot  we 
had,  our  match  went  out.  The  Indians  chiefly  levelled  at  the 
men  who  worked  the  cannon.  In  the  mean  time  the  main  body 
of  our  troops  kept  up  a  general  fire  with  musketry. 

The  loss  of  the  enemy  must  have  been  very  great,  because 
we  never  fired  until  we  fixed  on  our  men ;  but  the  cannon  was 
necessarily  fired  at  random,  as  only  two  or  three  Indians  ap 
peared  together.  When  the  firing  commenced,  the  van-guard 
wheeled,  and,  in  returning  to  the  main  body,  \vere  entirely  cut 
up.  The  battle  lasted  till  about  four  in  the  afternoon,  and  I 
was  about  the  last  man  who  handled  a  gun,  while  lying  on  my 
side.  At  the  close  I  received  a  shot  in  my  right  shoulder, 
which  passed  into  my  lungs ;  the  blood  gushed  out  of  my 
mouth  in  a  stream,  and,  dropping  my  musket,  I  rolled  over  on 
my  face.  The  Indians  then  entered  the  breastwork,  but  found 
not  one  man  standing  to  defend  it.  They  secured  the  arms, 
ammunition,  and  the  cannon,  and  despatched  such  of  our  fallen 
soldiers  as  they  supposed  still  to  be  alive.  Their  negroes  then 
came  in  to  strip  the  dead.  I  had  by  this  time  somewhat  reviv 
ed,  and  a  negro,  observing  that  I  was  not  dead,  took  up  a  mus 
ket,  and  shot  me  in  the  top  of  the  shoulder,  and  the  ball  came 
out  at  my  back.  After  firing,  he  said,  "  Dere,  d — n  you,  take 
dat."  He  then  stripped  me  of  every  thing  but  my  shirt. 

The  enemy  then  disappeared  to  the  left  of  the  pond,  and, 
through  weakness  and  apprehension,  I  remained  still,  till  about 
nine  o'clock  at  night.  I  then  commenced  crawling  on  my 
knees  and  left  hand.  As  I  was  crawling  over  the  dead,  I  put 
my  hand  on  one  man  who  felt  different  from  the  rest ;  he  was 
.varm  and  limber.  I  loused  him  up,  and  found  it  was  De 
Courcy,  an  Englishman,  and  the  son  of  a  British  officer,  resi 
dent  in  Canada.  I  told  him  that  it  was  best  for  us  to  attempt 
to  travel,  as  the  danger  appeared  to  be  over,  and  we  might  fall 
in  with  assistance. 

As  he  was  only  wounded  in  the  side  and  arm,  he  could  walk 
a  little.  We  got  along  as  well  as  we  could  that  night,  contin- 


THOMPSON'S  ESCAPE.  357 

i ! 
ued  on  till  next  noon,  when,  on  a  rising  ground,  ive  observed 

an  Indian  ahead,  on  horseback,  loading  his  rifle.  We  agreed 
that  he  should  go  on  one  side  of  the  road  and  I  on  the  ather. 
The  Indian  took  after  De  Courcy,  and  I  heard  the  discharge 
of  his  rifle.  This  gave  me  time  to  crawl  into  a  hammock  and 
hide  away.  The  Indian  soon  returned  with  his  arms  and  lee** 
covered  with  blood,  having,  no  doubt,  according  to  custom,  cut 
De  Courcy  to  pieces  after  bringing  him  down  with  his  rifle. 
The  Indian  came  riding  through  the  brush  in  pursuit  of  me. 
and  approached  within  ten  feet,  but  gave  up  the  search.  I 
then  resumed  my  route  back  to  fort  Brooke,  crawled  and  limped 
through  the  nights  and  forenoons,  and  slept  in  the  brush  dur 
ing  the  middle  of  the  day,  with  no  other  nourishment  than  cold 
water.  I  got  to  fort  Brooke  on  the  evening  of  the  fifth  day  ; 
and  in  five  months  afterwards  was  discharged  as  a  pensioner, 
at  eight  dollars  per  month.  The  doctor  attributes  my  not  dy 
ing  of  my  wounds  to  the  circumstance  that  I  bled  a  good  deal, 
and  did  not  partake  of  any  solid  food  during  the  five  first  days. 
Two  other  soldiers,  by  the  names  of  Thomas  and  Spragiie, 
also  came  in  afterwards.  Although  badly  wounded,  they  as 
cended  a  tree,  and  thus  escaped  the  enemy,  on  the  evening  of 
the  battle.  They  joined  another  expedition,  two  months  after, 
but  before  their  wounds  were  healed,  and  they  soon  died  of 
them. 


THE    FOLLOWING 

NARRATIVE  OP  ONE  OF  THE  MOST  EXTRAORDINARY  ES 
CAPES  FROM  A  DREADFUL  DEATH,  ANYWHERE  RECORDED, 
IS  CONTAINED  IN  A  LETTER  WRITTEN  BY  THE  SUFFERER 
TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  CHARLESTON  (S.  C.)  COURIER, 
IMMEDIATELY  AFTER  IT  HAPPENED.  IT  TOOK  PLACE  AT 
CAPE  FLORIDA  LIGHTHOUSE,  IN  1836. 

ON  the  23d  of  July  last,  about  four  P.  M.,  as  I  was  going 
from  the  kitchen  to  the  dwelling-house,  I  discovered  a  large 
body  of  Indians  within  twenty  yards  of  me,  back  of  the  kitch 
en.  I  ran  for  the  lighthouse,  and  called  out  to  the  old  negro 
man  that  was  with  me  to  run,  for  the  Indians  were  near;  at 
that  moment  they  discharged  a  volley  of  rifle  balls,  which  cut 
my  clothes  and  hat,  and  perforated  the  door  in  many  places. 
We  got  in,  and  as  I  was  turning  the  key  the  savages  had  hold 
of  the  door.  I  stationed  the  negro  at  the  door,  with  orders  to 
let  me  know  if  they  attempted  to  break  in ;  I  then  took  my 
three  muskets,  which  were  loaded  with  ball  and  buck-shot,  and 
went  to  the  second  window.  Seeing  a  large  body  of  them  op- 


43 


358  ESCAPE   OF 

posite  the  dwelling-house,  I  discharged  my  muskets  in  succes 
sion  among  them,  which  put  them  in  some  confusion ;  they 
then,  for  the  second  time,  began  their  horrid  yells,  and  in  a 
minute  no  sash  or  glass  was  left  at  the  window,  for  they  vented 
their  rage  at  that  spot.  I  fired  at  them  from  some  of  the  other 
windows,  and  from  the  top  of  the  house ;  in  fact,  I  fired  when 
ever  I  could  get  an  Indian  for  a  mark.  I  kept  them  from  the 
house  until  dark. 

They  then  poured  in  a  heavy  fire  at  all  the  windows  and 
lantern  ;  that  was  the  time  they  set  fire  to  the  door  and  window 
even  with  the  ground.  The  window  was  boarded  up  with  plank 
and  fiHed  up  with  stone  inside;  but  the  flames  spread  fast, 
being  fed  with  yellow  pine  wood.  Their  balls  had  perforated 
the  tin  tanks  of  oil,  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
gallons  ;  my  bedding,  clothing,  and  in  fact  every  thing  I  had, 
was  soaked  in  oil.  1  stopped  at  the  door  until  driven  away  by 
the  flames.  I  then  took  a  keg  of  gunpowder,  my  balls,  and 
one  musket  to  the  top  of  the  house,  then  went  below,  and  be 
gan  to  cut  away  the  stairs  about  half  way  up  from  the  bottom. 
I  had  difficulty  in  getting  the  old  negro  up  the  space  I  had 
already  cut ;  but  the  flames  now  drove  me  from  my  labor,  and 
I  retreated  to  the  top  of  the  house.  I  covered  over  the  scuttle 
that  leads  to  the  lantern,  which  kept  the  fire  from  me  for  some 
time;  at  last  the  awful  moment  arrived,  the  crackling  flames 
burnt  around  me,  the  savages  at  the  same  time  began  their 
hellish  yells.  My  poor  old  negro  looked  to  me  with  tears  in 
his  eyes,  but  could  not  speak  ;  we  went  out  of  the  lantern,  and 
lay  down  on  the  edge  of  the  platform,  two  feet  wide ;  the  lan 
tern  now  was  full  of  flame,  the  lamps  and  glasses  bursting  and 
flying  in  all  directions,  my  clothes  on  fire,  and  to  move  from 
the  place  where  I  was  would  be  instant  death  from  their  rifles. 
My  flesh  was  roasting,  and  to  put  an  end  to  my  horrible  suf 
fering,  I  got  up,  threw  the  keg  of  gunpowder  down  the  scuttle 
— instantly  it  exploded,  and  shook  the  tower  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom.  It  had  not  the  desired  effect  of  blowing  me  into 
•eternity,  but  it  threw  down  the  stairs  and  all  the  wooden  work 
near  the  top  of  the  house  ;  it  damped  the  fire  for  a  moment, 
but  it  soon  blazed  as  fierce  as  ever  ;  the  negro  man  said  he  was 
wounded,  which  was  the  last  word  he  spoke. 

By  this  time  I  had  received  some  wounds  myself;  and  find 
ing  no  chance  for  my  life,  for  I  was  roasting  alive,  I  took  the 
determination  to  jump  off.  I  got  up,  went  outside  the  iron 
railing,  recommending  my  soul  to  God,  and  was  on  the  point 
of  going  head  foremost  on  the  rocks  below,  when  something 
dictated  to  me  to  return  and  lie  down  again.  I  did  so,  and  in 
two  minutes  the  fire  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  house.  It  is  a 


JOHN  W.  B.  THOMPSON.  359 

remarkable  circumstance,  that  not  one  ball  struck  me  when  I 
stood  up  outside  the  railing,  although  they  were  flying  all 
around  me  like  hail-stones.  I  found  the  old  negro  man  dead, 
being  shot  in  several  places,  and  literally  roasted.  A  few 
minutes  after  the  fire  fell,  a  stiff  breeze  sprung  up  from  the  south 
ward,  which  was  a  great  blessing  to  me.  I  had  to  lie  where  I 
was,  for  I  could  not  walk,  having  received  six  rifle  balls,  three 
m  each  foot.  The  Indians,  thinking  me  dead,  left  the  light 
house,  arid  set  fire  to  the  dwelling-house,  kitchen  and  other 
out-houses,  and  began  to  carry  their  plunder  to  the  beach  ;  they 
took  all  the  empty  barrels,  the  drawers  of  the  bureaus,  and  in 
fact  every  thing  that  would  act  as  a  vessel  to  hold  any  thing ; 
my  provisions  were  in  the  lighthouse,  .except  a  barrel  of  flour, 
which  they  took  off.  The  next  morning  they  hauled  out  of 
the  lighthouse,  by  means  of  a  pole,  the  tin  that  composed  the 
oil  tanks,  no  doubt  to  make  grates  to  manufacture  the  coonty 
root  into  what  we  call  arrow  root.  After  loading  my  little 
sloop,  about  ten  or  twelve  went  into  her ;  the  rest  took  to  the 
beach  to  meet  at  the  other  end  of  the  island.  This  happened, 
as  I  judge,  about  ten,  A.  M.  My  eyes  being  much  affected, 
prevented  me  from  knowing  their  actual  force,  but  I  judge  there 
were  from  forty  to  fifty,  perhaps  more.  I  was  now  almost  as 
bad  off  as  before  ;  a  burning  fever  on  me,  my  feet  shot  to  pieces, 
no  clothes  to  cover  me,  nothing  to  eat  or  drink,  a  hot  sun  over 
head,  a  dead  man  by  my  side,  no  friend  near  or  any  to  expect, 
and  placed  between  ^vpnty  and  eighty  feet  from  the  earth,  and 
no  chance  of  getting  clown,  my  situation  was  truly  horrible. 
About  twelve  o'clock,  1  thought  I  could  perceive  a  vessel  not  far 
off;  I  took  a  piece  of  the  old  negro's  trowsers  that  had  escaped 
the  flames  by  being  wet  with  blood,  and  made  a  signal. 

Some  time  in  the  afternoon,  I  saw  two  boats  with  my  sloop 
in  tow  coming  to  the  landing.  I  had  no  doubt  but  they  were 
Indians,  having  seen  my  signal,  and  had  returned  to  finish 
their  murderous  design  :  but  it  proved  to  be  boats  of  the  United 
States  schooner  Motto,  Capt.  Armstrong,  with  a  detachment 
of  seamen  and  marines,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Lloyd, 
of  the  sloop-of-war  Concord.  They  had  retaken  my  sloop, 
after  the  Indians  had  stripped  Inr  of  her  sails  and  rigging,  and 
every  thing  of  consequence  belorging  to  her;  they  informed 
me  they  heard  my  explosion  twelve  miles  ofT,  and  ran  down  to 
my  assistance,  but  did  not  expect  *o  find  me  alive.  Those 
gentlemen  did  all  in  their  power  to  relieve  me,  but,  night  com 
ing  on,  they  returned  on  board  the  Motto,  after  assuring  me  of 
their  assistance  in  the  morning. 

Next  morning,  Monday,  July  5,  three  boats  landed,  among 
them  Capt.  Cole,  of  the  schooner  Pee  Dee,  from  New  York 


,360 


THOMPSON'S    ESCAPE. 


They  had  made  a  kite  during  the  night,  to  get  a  line  to  me, 
but  without  effect;  they  then  fired  twine  from  their  muskets, 
made  fast  to  a  ramrod,  which  I  received,  and  hauled  up  a  tail- 
block  arid  made  fast  round  an  iron  stanchion,  rove  the  twine 
through  the  block,  and  they  below,  by  that  means,  rove  a  two- 
inch  rope,  and  hoisted  up  two  men,  who  soon  landed  me  on 
terra  firma.  I  must  state  here,  that  the  Indians  had  made  a 
ladder,  by  lashing  pieces  of  wood  across  the  lightning  rod,  near 
forty  feet  from  the  ground,  as  if  to  have  my  scalp,  nolens  vo- 
lens.  This  happened  on  the  fourth.  After  I  got  on  board  the 
Motto,  every  man,  from  the  captain  to  the  cook,  tried  to  alle 
viate  my  sufferings.  On  the  seventh,  I  was  received  in  the 
military  hospital,  through  the  politeness  of  Lieut.  Alvord,  of 
the  fourth  regiment  of  United  States  Infantry.  He  has  done 
every  thing  to  make  my  situation  as  comfortable  as  possible. 

I  must  not  omit  here  to  return  my  thanks  to  the  citizens  of 
Key  West,  generally*  for  their  sympathy  and  kind  offers  of  any 
thing  I  would  wish,  that  it  was  in  their  power  to  bestow.  Be 
fore  I  left  Key  West,  two  balls  were  extracted,  and  one  remains 
in  my  right  leg;  but,  since  I  am  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Ram 
sey,  who  has  paid  every  attention  to  me,  he  will  know  best 
whether  to  extract  it  or  not. 

These   lines  are  written  to  let  my  friends  know  that  I  am 
still  in  the  land  of  the  living,  and  am  now  in  Charleston,  S.  C., 
where  every  attention  is  paid  me.     Although  a  cripple,  I  can 
eat  my  allowance,  and  walk  about  without  the  use  of  a  cane. 
Respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  W.  B.  THOMPSON 


361 

NEWS    FROM    NEW-ENGLAND. 

•I 

BEING  A  TRUE  AND  LAST  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PRESENT. 
BLOODY  WARS  CARRIED  ON  BETWIXT  THE  INFIDELS, 
NATIVES,  AND  THE  ENGLISH  CHRISTIANS,  AND  CON 
VERTED  INDIANS  OF  NEW-ENGLAND,  DECLARING  THE 
MANY  DREADFUL  BATTLES  FOUGHT  BETWIXT  THEM : 
AS  ALSO  THE  MANY  TOWNS  AND  VILLAGES  BURNT 
BY  THE  MERCILESS  HEATHENS.  AND  ALSO  THE  TRUE 
NUMBER  OF  ALL  THE  CHRISTIANS  SLAIN  SINCE  THE 
BEGINNING  OF  THAT  WAR,  AS  IT  WAS  SENT  OVER  BY 
A  FACTOR  OF  NEW-ENGLAND  TO  A  MERCHANT  IN 
LONDON.  Licensed  Aug.  1.  —  Roger  L'Estrange.  LONDON. 
Printed  for  J.  Comers,  at  the  Sign  of  the  Black  Raven  in  Duck-Lane,  1676. 

[The  following  tract  is  of  exceeding  rarity ;  so  much  so  that,  not  long 
since,  but  one  was  known  to  be  in  this  country.  This  is  reprinted  from  a 
copy  of  one  in  the  library  of  JOHN  CARTER  BROWN.  Esq.,  of  Providence. 
To  the  politeness  of  this  gentleman  we  are  indebted  for  permission  to  make 
a  transcript.  The  original  is,  without  exception,  one  of  the  worst  printed 
tracts  of  the  day  in  which  it  appeared.  The  type  on  which  it  was  printed 
was  wretched,  especially  the  Italic;  some  of  the  letters  in  many  of  the 
words  not  being  distinguishable,  and  others  entirely  wanting.  I  have  ad 
hered,  in  this  reprint,  as  closely  to  the  original,  in  respect  to  orthography, 
capitals,  and  italics,  as  possible.  Of  its  comparative  value,  in  an  historical 
point  of  view,  it  is  unnecessary  to  remark.  It  is  republished  as  a  curious 
record  of  one  of  the  most  important  periods  in  the  History  of  New  Eng 
land.  The  Antiquary,  and  Student  in  our  history,  will  readily  perceive 
its  value,  while  to  the  general  reader  it  will  be  almost  as  unintelligible  as 
though  in  an  unknown  language. 

To  whom  belongs  the  authorship,  we  have  no  data  on  which  to  found 
even  a  conjecture.  A  few  notes  seemed  necessary.  These,  and  the  words 
in  the  text  included  in  brackets,  are  added  to  this  edition.] 

oca  cjit  Lsitite 

THOSE  Coals  of  Discention  which  had  a  long  time  lain 
hid  under  the  ashes  of  a  secret  envy ;  contracted  by  the 
Heathen  Indians  of  New-England,  against  the  English ; 
and  Christian  Natives  of  tha?  Country  brake  out  in  June 
1675.  both  Armies  being  at  a  distance  without  doing  any 
thing  remarkable  till  the  13  of  December  following ;  at  which 
time  the  Mathusets  and  Plymouth  Company  marching  from 
Seconk,  sent  out  a  considerable  number  of  Scouts,  who 
kill'd  &  took  55.  of  the  Enemy,  returning  with  no  other 
loss  but  two  of  our  Men  disabled  ,  about  three  days  after 
came  a  perfidious  Indian  to  our  Array  pretending  he  was 
sent  by  the  Sachems  to  treat  of  Peace,  who  was  indeed  no 
other  but  a  Spy  and  was  no  sooner  conducted  out  of  our 
Camp  but  we  had  news  brought  us  that  22  of  our  Stragling 


— — =1 

tt 

362  NEWS  FROM    NEW-ENGLAND. 

Souldiers  were  Slain  and  divers  barns  and  out  houses,  with 
Mr.  Jer.  Bulls  dwelling  house  burnt  by  him  and  his  Trech- 
erous  confederates  which  waited  for  him.  The  next  day, 
as  the  Connectick  Army  under  the  Conduct  of  Major  Treat 
was  Marching  to  Joyn  with  the  Mathusets,  and  Plymouth 
Company ;  they  were  assaulted  by  the  Indians,  but  without 
any  loss,  they  taking  eleaven  of  the  Assailants  Prisoners. 

The  81th  [18]  of  December,  our  whole  Army  being  united 
under  the  Conduct  of  Major  Genr :  Winslow,  went  to  seek 
out  the  Enemy,  whom  we  found  (there  then  hapening  a 
great  fall  of  Snow)  securing  themsueles  in  a  dismal  Swamp, 
so  hard  of  access  that  there  was  but  one  was  [way]  for  en 
trance,  which  was  well  lin'd  with  Heathen  Indians,  who 
presently  went  out  to  assault  us  ;  but  we  falling  in  Pel-mell 
with  them;  with  much  difficulty  gained  the  Swamp  where 
we  found  above  1500  Wiggwams,  and  by  night,  had  pos 
session  [2]  of  the  fort  of  which  we  were  dispossest  soon 
after  by  an  unexpected  recruit  of  fresh  Indians  out  of  an 
adjoyning  Swamp,  but  our  Noble  Generals  insatiable  de 
sire  of  victory  prompted  him  to  such  brave  actions,  that  we 
following1  his  example  to  the  enemies  cost,  made  our 
selves  absolute  Masters  of  the  fort  again.*  Although  we 
purchased  our  success  at  so  dear  a  rate  that  we  have  small 
cause  to  rejoyce  at  the  victory^;  yet  when  we  consider  the 
vast  disadvantage!  they  had  of  us  in  number,  whom  we 
collected  $  have  4000  fighting  men,  &  we  not  much  more 
than  half  so  many,  we  have  great  reason  to  bless  God  we 
came  of  so  well,  our  dead  and  wounded  not  a  Mounting  to 
above  220,  and  the  enemies  by  their  own  Confession  to  no 
less  than  600.  the  chief  officers  kild  on  our  side  were 
Capt.  Davenport,  Capt.  Johnson,  Capt.  Marshal,  Capt. 
Gardner.  Capt.  Gallop.  Captains  wounded  were  4.  vizt, 
Seaky,  Major  Wats,  and  Bradford,  Lieutenants  wounded 
were  4.  viz.  Savage,  Ting,  Upham  and  Wam.$ 

In  this  bloody  Battle  we  gaue  so  bitter  a  Relish  of  our 
English  valour  &  our  converted  Indians  resolutions,  that 
they  dreaded  our  neighborhood  &  thought  themselves 
unsafe  till  secnr'd  by  six  or  seaven  miles  distance  from 
our  remaining  Army,  where  they  remain'd  near  a  month 


•  There  ti  a  little  embellishment  here.  The  English  were  at  no  time  driven  out  of  th« 
tort.  t  The  exact  reverse  is  probably  meant.  t  Calculated  ? 

f  Swain,  very  probably.  There  was  a  "  Lieut.  Swayne,"  belonging  to  Capt.  Apple- 
ton'g  company.  A  "  Lieut.  Sioan  "  is  mentioned  in  one  of  the  London  tracts  In  our 
tu>  INDIAN  CHROMSTB,  p.  50,  no  doubt  the  same  Lieut  Swain. 


NEWS    FROM    NEW-ENGLAND.  363 

not  attempting  anything  considerable  till  the  first  of  Feb. 
at  which  time  a  certain  Number  of  them  made  desperate 
through  hunger  came  to  Palickset,  a  Little  Town  near  Pro 
vidence  &  attempted  the  house  of  one  Mr.  Carpenter, 
from  whom  they  took  20  horses  50  head  of  Cattle  and  180 
sheep.  And  set  fire  on  a  house  at  Southbury  *  wherein 
were  two  men,  one  woman  and  seaven  Children;  on  the 
4th.  of  February  the  Christians  received  private  intelligence 
from  the  Indians  who  had  Sculked  ever  since  the  last  Bat 
tle  in  certain  woods  scituate  about  30  miles  from.Malbury, 
that  they  were  drawn  up  into  a  body,  and  encamped  in  a 
well  fortified  Swamp,  where  notwithstanding  the  Indians 
[3]  assaulted  the  Rear,  wounded  four  of  our  men,  and  we 
killing  so  many  of  theirs  that  they  thought  fit  to  forsake 
their  refuge,  and  leave  both  it  and  their  wigwams  to  our 
disposal,  who  lodging  in  their  Rooms  that  night,  set  fire  to 
a  150  of  their  wigwams  next  morning,  &  by  this  light 
pursued  them  so  close  that  we  kill'd  divers  of  them,  whom 
age  or  wounds  rendered  incapable  [3]  of  keeping  up  with 
their  Companions,  &  resolving  to  continue  the  quest  with 
all  the  celerity  imaginable,  they  led  us  to  another  Swamp 
whose  Rocky  ascent  propounded  so  great  a  difficulty  to  at 
tain  it,  as  would  have  Staggar'd  the  resolution  of  any  but  a 
resolved  Mind  ;  but  we  attempted  it  with  the  like  resolution 
and  success  as  we  did  the  Last;  the  enemy  by  a  speedy 
flight  leaving  us  in  full  possession  of  all  they  left  behind 
them. 

We  Persued  them  two  dayes  after  this  encounter,  but 
then  (which  was  on  the  18th  Febr.)  finding  our  men  wear 
ied  with  Speedy  marches,  our  provision  scarce  through  con 
tinual  expence  and  no  recruit,  our  horses  tir'd,  and  our 
selves  hopeless  of  overtaking  them,  who  had  great  advan 
tage  of  us  in  passing  over  Rocks  and  through  Thickets, 
which  our  Foot,  not  without  much  difficulty,  could,  &  our 
horse  were  altogether  incapable  to  do ;  our  Commanders, 
after  a  Councel  of  warr,  resolved  to  send  the  Massathusets 
&  Plymouth  Company  to  Malbury,  and  the  Connecticks 
Army  to  their  own  homes  which  was  accordingly  done. 
And  Major  Genr.  Winslow,  only  with  his  Troops  to  Boston, 
leaving  the  foot  at  Malbury  and  South-bury,  who  came 
home  on  Munday  following,  and  were  all  dismist  to  their 
several  habitations,  except  Capt.  Wadworth,  who  was  left 

*  Sudbury,  probably. 


364  KBWS  FROM  ffEW-ESTGLANS. 

at  Mulbury  in  persuit  of  the  Enemy,  of  whom  he  destroyed 
about  70,  Old  Men,  Women  and  Children,  who  wanted 
strength  to  follow  the  fugitive  Army.* 

The  Desperate  heathens  takeing  advantage  of  the  dis 
mission  of  three  Disbanded  Companies,  studied  nothing 
but  Massacres,  outrages,  and  treacherous  hostillitie,  which 
within  two  days  after  those  said  Companies  were  dispers't, 
they  found  opportunity  to  commit,  in  a  Town  called  Nash- 
away,  which  they  set  fire  to,  and  burnt  to  the  Ground,  taking 
no  less  than  55  Persons  into  their  Merciless  captivity,  and 
because  the  reader  shall  understand  the  Damnable  antipa 
thy  they  have  to  Religion  and  Piety,  I  would  have  him  take 
notice  how  they  endeavour  to  Signallize  their  Cruelty,  and 
gratifie  their  enraged  Spleen,  chiefly  on  the  promoters  of  it; 
for  of  these  55  Captives,  the  Minister  of  the  Town's  rela 
tions  made  no  less  than  19  of  them;  viz.  Mrs.  Rowlonson, 
the  Ministers  wife,  and  three  of  his  Children,  her  sister  and 
seaven  Children,  and  her  sister  Drew  and  four  Children. 
The  Minister  himself  with  his  sisters  husbands  returning 
from  Boston  a  little  after  the  engagement,  [4]  to  their  in 
finite  grief,  found  their  houses  burnt  to  the  ground,  and  their 
Wives  and  Children  taken  Captive,  nor  was  this  crueltie 
committed,  as  the  extent  or  Nepolus  Vltria  of  their  vengance, 
but  rather  as  an  earnest  of  their  BearbarUy.  For  no  longer 
than  the  next  day  after,  three  men  Going  out,  with  the  Cart, 
were  seiz'd  on  by  these  Indians,  one  of  them  killed,  and  the 
other  two  not  to  be  found ;  the  day  following  at  Cox[c]ord, 
[Concord?]  they  burnt  one  house  and  murder'd  three  per 
sons. 

In  short,  their  outrages  are  so  many  and  different,  that  I 
must  intreat  the  reader,  since  they  will  not  be  brought  into 
afluent  Narration,  to  accept  them  plainly  and  dyurnally,  ac 
cording  to  the  time,  place,  and  manner,  as  they  were  com 
mitted,  which  is  the  only  way  to  avoid  omissions,  and 
consequently  to  Satisfie  the  inquisitive,  who,  I  suppose, 
would  willingly  hear  of  all  the  extremities  [that]  have  hap 
pened  to  the  suffering  Christians  in  this  New  England  War. 

On  the  17  of  Febr.  therefore,  you  must  know,  that  the 
Town  of  Medfeild  was  begirt  with  a  regiment  of  resoleut 
Indian[s],  who  assailed  it  so  briskly,  that  maugred  all  the 
resistance  made  by  Capt.  Jacobbs,  who  was  then  Ingarrison- 
ed  there  with  a  hundred  Souldiers  for  its  security,  the  en- 

•If  this  be  so,  who  will  wonder  at  the  fcto  of  Capfc.  Wads  worth  and  his  men? 


NEWS  FROM  NEW-ENGLAND.  365 

raged  Heathens  never  desisted  their  desperate  attemps, 
Battering  the  Walls,  and  powering  showers  of  Arrows  into 
the  bosome  of  the  Town,  they  had  distroyed  above  50  of 
her  inhabitants,  &  burnt  30  of  her  houses. 

The  1th,  of  March  following  these  bloody  Indians  march* t 
to  a  considerable  Town  called  Croaton*  where  first  they 
set  fire  to  Major  Willards  house,  &  afterwards  burnt  65 
more,  there  being  Seaventy  two  houses  at  first,  so  that  there 
was  left  standing  but  six  houses  of  the  whole  Town  ;  the 
next  day  after,  two  men  coming  from  Malbury  to  Southbury 
were  slain:  and  the  Sabboth  day  ensuing,  these  destroying 
Indians  came  to  Plymouth,  where  fixing  only  on  a  house  of 
one  Mr.  Clarks,  they  burnt,  and  numbered  his  wife  and 
all  his  Children,  himself  Narrowly  escaping  their  crueltie 
by  happily  at  that  juncture  being  at  a  meeting. 

On  the  second  of  April,  1676,  Major  Savage,  Cant.  Hose- 
ley,  Capt  William  Tumor,  and  Captain  WhipalJ  with  300. 
men  marching  from  Malborow  to  Quabury,$  where  they  had 
ordered  the  Connectick  Army  to  remain  in  readiness  against 
their  coming,  which  being  effected,  accordingly  they  joined 
forces,  and  began  [5]  their  march  towards  Northampton,  but 
by  the  way  were  assaulted  by  the  Indians,  whom  they  re 
pelled  without  any  other  damage,  then  only  Mr.  Buckly 
wounded,  killing  about  20  of  the  Enemies  in  a  hot  persuit 
after  them. 

The  tenth  Ditto,  about  700  Indians  encompast  North 
ampton  on  all  sides  where  they  fought  very  resolutely  for 
the  space  of  an  hour,  and  then  fled,  leaving  about  25  per 
sons  dead  upon  the  place,  the  Christians  loosing  only  4.  men 
and  1.  woman,  and  had  some  barnes  burnt;  on  the  \2th 
instant  they  assaulted  Warwick  with  so  unhappy  a  success 
that  they  burnt  all  the  Town,  except  four  Garrison  houses 
which  were  left  standing,  six  days  after  Captain  Peirce, 
Brother  to  Captain  Peirce  of  London,  with  55  men  and  20 
Christian  Indians  went  to  seek  out  their  Enemies,  the 
Indians  whom  according  to  their  intelligence  they  found 
rambling  in  an  obscure  Wood;  upon  his  approach  they 
drew  in  to  order,  and  received  his  onset  with  much  difficulty, 
being  in  the  end  forced  to  retreat,  but  it  was  so  slowly  that 
it  scarcely  deserved  that  name,  when  a  fresh  company  of 

«  Groton.  probably.    The  C.  may  be  an  imperfect  G.  in  copy. 
t  Probably  Whipple,  but  hardly  decidable. 
JQuabaog?    Brookfield. 


366  NEWS   FROM   NEW-ENGLAND. 

Indians  came  into  their  assistance,  beset  the  Christians 
round,  Killed  Captain  Pierce  and  48.  of  his  men,  besides  8. 
of  the  Christian  Indians.  The  Fight  continued  about  5 
hours,  the  Enemy  bying  the  Victory  very  dearly,  but  at  last 
obtained  it  so  absolutely,  that  they  deprived  us  of  all  means 
of  hearing  of  their  loss. 

At  Malbrow  on  the  \2th  Ditto,  were  several  houses  burnt 
whilst  the  miserable  inhabitants  were  at  a  meeting,  and  at 
Springfield  the  same  Lords  day,  these  devillish  Enemies  of 
Religion  seeing  a  man,  woman,  and  their  Children,  going 
but  towards  a  meeting-house,  Slew  them  (as  they  said) 
because  they  thought  they  intended  to  go  thither. 

The  28tk,  of  the  same  instant,  April  last,  Captain  Denison 
collecting  a  Regiment  of  500,  and  200  English  Paquet 
Nimerass  Indians,  marcht  out  of  New  London  in  search  of 
that  Grand  fomenter  of  this  Rebellion.  Anthony*  the 
Secham,  whom  at  last  near  the  Town  call'd  Providence  he 
recovered,  and  after  a  hot  dispute,  wherein  he  kill'd  45  of 
the  Sechems  men,  Took  him  their  commander  Prisoner, 
with  several  of  his  Captiines,  whom  they  immediately  put 
to  death;  but  were  at  strong  debate  whether  they  should 
send  him  to  Boston,  but  at  length  they  carried  him  to  [6] 
New  London,  and  bei>an  to  examine  him,  why  he  did  fo 
ment  that  war  which  would  certainly  be  the  distruction  of 
him  and  all  the  Heathen  Indians  in  the  Country,  to  which, 
and  many  other  interogatories  he  made  no  other  reply  but 
that  t[he  was  born  a  Prince,  &  if  Princes  came  to  speak 
with  him,  he  would  answer  them,  But  none  of  those  pres 
ent  being  Princes,  he  thought  himself  oblig'd  in  honour  to 
hold  his  Tongue  ]t  This  Answer,  though  it  might  Chal 
lenge  their  admiration,  was  not  so  prevalent  as  to  obtain 
their  pitty. 

Notwithstanding,  the  Surviveing  Sechems  were  not  long 
in  revenging  his  death,  for,  on  the  Sixth  of  May,  they  burnt 
all  Maihorow,  except  three  Garrison  houses,  kill'd  Capt. 
Jacobson  and  Lieutenant  Pra£,  and  two  dayes  after  burnt  24 
houses  in  Southbury,  kill'd  several  of  the  inhabitants  who 
vainly  expected  Capt.  Wedworth  and  Capt.  Brookwe\  to 
their  Relief;  for  these  unfortunate  Gentlemen  were  inter- 

*  Nanunteno,  unquestionably  is  intended  ;  but  what  is  meant  by  Nimerass  is  beyond 
OUT  comprehension. 

f  The  printer's  quotation  mark. 

t  The  printer  was  probably  puzzled  to  make  any  thing  of  his  copy  Brocklebank  is 
thtname. 


NEWS  FROM  NEW-ENGLAND.  367 

\\ 

cepted  by  700  Moors,  with  whom  they  fought  for  the  space 
of  4  hours,  till  not  only  they  two,  but  Capt.  Sharp  and  51 
Christians  more  lay  dead  upon  the  place. 

At  Wbodcock[s]  10  miles  from  Seconch,  on  the  16th  May 
was  a  little  Skirmage  betwixt  the  Moors  and  Christians, 
wherein  there  was  of  the  later  three  slain  and  two  wounded, 
and  only  two  Indians  Kild. 

May  28.  1676.  Capt.  Denison  and  Capt.  Evry  [Avery] 
with  50  English  and  about  150  Paquet  Indians,  Scouting 
among  the  Woods,  in  8  days  space  kill'd  25  Indians  ^.^  took 
51  prisoners;  one  whereof  was  Grand-child  to  Dunham* 
who  was  kill'd  by  Capt.  Peirce  in  the  engagement  on  the 
26  May. 

The  number  of  Christians  slain  since  the  beginning  of  the 
late  Wars  in  New  England,  are  444.  Taken  Prisoners,  55. 

The  number  of  Indians  Slain  in  this  war  is  uncertain, 
because  they  burnt  their  Dead,  keeping  their  Death  as  a 
Secret  from  the  Christians  knowledge,  but  the  number  men 
tioned  herein  is  910. 

We  have  Received  very  late  news  that  the  Christians  in 
New  England  have  had  very  great  Victory  over  the  Infidel 
Natives. 

There  has  been  a  Treaty  between  them ;  the  Indians 
proffer  to  lay  down  their  Armes ;  but  the  English  are  not 
willing  to  agree  to  it,  except  they  will  give  up  their  Armes, 
and  go  as  far  up  into  the  Country,  as  the  Court  of  Boston 
shall  think  fit.* 

*  Perhaps  Pumham.    t  This  is  new  and  untrue. 

$  Some  copies  of  the  original  tract  have  not  this  last  paragraph.  Mr.  BROWN'S  copy 
has  it,  but  that  in  Harvard  College  library  is  without  it.  By  comparing  the  proofs  of 
this  edition  with  that  belonging  to  the  College, -several  corrections  have  been  made,  and 
uncertain  words  made  out,  which  could  not  have  been  done  by  the  other  copy.  And 
here  we  would  return  our  thanks  to  the  obliging  Librarian,  for  his  kindness  in  affording 
as  an  opportunity  to  make  our  copy  more  perfect  than  either  of  the  others. 


FINIS. 


INDEX. 


Adams,  George.  242 

Adams,  Mr. ,  a  captive  in  Canada,  137 

Adams,  John,  a  captive,  150-1 
Aikings,  William,  a  captive,  135 
Alexander,  James,  a  captive,  84-5 
Alden,  Capt.,sent  to  redeem  captives,  106 
Aldrick,  John,  a  captive  in  Canada,  137 
Alvord,  Lieutenant,  360 
Amrusus,  husband  of  Eunice  Williams,  129 
Anderson,  James,  a  captive,  134 ;  his  father 

killed,  137 

Anderson,  Samuel,  a  captive,  134 
Andrews,  Phinehas,  dies  in  captivity,  137 

Arnold, .liberates  Frances  Noble,   171, 

Armstrong,  Col,  John,  261 ;  his  expedition, 

263 
Armstrong,  Col  Joseph,  250 

Armstrong,  Capt. ,  359 

Asallecoa,  (Mohawk  Solomon.)  187 
Ashby,  captives  taken  there,  139 
Ashpelon,  leads  a  party  and  surprises  Deer- 
field,  60-1 ;  protects  the  captives,  63 
Auge,  Mad.  St.,  166-7, 170-1 

Bailey,  Capt. ,  dies  in  captivity,  137 

Bailey,  Jacob,  dies  in  captivity,  137 
Baker,  Robert,  narrow  escape  of,  ]27 
Baker,  William,  239 

Ball,  Mr. and  wife  killed  at  Lancaster,  21 

Ball, ,  family  of  attacked,  338 

Ballock,  Lieut. ,  130 

Banks,  Sir  Joseph,  286 

Batherick,  Jonathan,  a  captive,  136 

Beavers,  account  of,  93-4;    curious  facts 

respecting,  209-10, 312 
Bellemont,  Gov  ,  106 
Sell,  John,  155 

Bennet,  Richard,  dies  in  captivity,  137 
Berran,  John,  a  captive,  135 
Blake,  Lieut.,  of  Epsom,  anecdotes  of  146-7 

Blodget, ,  a  soldier  killed  at  Ashby,  140 

Bomazeen,  a  chief,  prisoner  in  Boston,  106 
Book  of  the  Indians,  cited,  iii.,  vii.  35,  46, 
48,  65,  73,  80,  84,  98, 102,  109, 284,  355 
liostwick,  Mr. ,  a  captive,  295  ;  ransom 
ed,  301 

Bouquet,  Col.,  how  sa'd  from  defeat,  259-60 
Bowman,  Ann,  a  captive,  276 
Boyd,  Ensiscn,  killed,  352 
Bozarth,  Experience,  her  desperate  resist 
ance,  335 

Braban,  Giat,  dies  in  captivity,  137 
Braddock,  Gen.,  Indians  opinion  of  his 
army,  183 ;  his  defeat,  184 ;  by  Indians, 


Bradford,  John,  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  179 
Bradley,  Capt.,  279 

Bradshaw,  John,  dies  in  captivity,  137 
Bridgman,  Jonathan,  a  captive,  136 
Brooks,  Mr.  William,  347 

Brown,  Deacon ,135 

Brown,  Timothy,  a  captive,  135 
Bryant,  Sarah,  widow,  married,  137 
Burbank,  Caleb,  a  captive,  140 
Burbank,  Jonathan,  a  captive,  140;    re 
deemed,  142 ;  killed,  142 
Burbank,  Samuel,  a  captive,  135 ;  dies  138- 


Butler,  Gen.,  the  Indian  who  scalped  him 
taken,  352 

Cadotte,  M. ,  322,  324 

Caldwell,  Rev  James,  killed,  179 

Campbell,  Arthur,  a  captive.  204 

Carter, ,  351 

Carver,  Capt.  Jonathan,  his  captivity,  172-8 

Catawbas,  some  account  of,  189-90 

Chalker, ,  77 

Chapman,  Capt. ,  137 

Chipman,  William,  a  captive,  133 

Christi,  his  exploit  at  Epsom,  144 

Chronicles  of  the  Indians,  131, 134,284 

Chubb,  Capt.,  surrenders  Fort  Pemmaquid, 
101 

Church,  Col.  Benjamin,  107 

Clark,  Ransom,  escapes  from  Dade's  massa 
cre,  355 

Clendenin,  Archibald,  284 

Clendenin,  Mrs.  captivity  of,  284-6 

Closier,  James,  351 

Cloutman,  Edward,  a  captive,  134 ;  escapes 
137 

Cochecho  —  see  Quochecho 

Cole,  Capt.,  359 

Conjuration,  216 

Convers.  Maj.  James,  106 

Cook,  Elisha,  killed,  135 

Cooms,  Michael,  ransomed,  105 

Corbett,  Jesse,  142 

Corbly,  Rev.  John,   his  narrative  of  the 
destruction  of  his  family,  336-7 

Cornstalk,  breaks  up  the  Greenbrier  Set 
tlement,  284 

Cortez,  his  capture  of  Narvaez,  11        ^,.-' 

Courtship,  Indian  mode  of,  253 

Cox,  Mr. ,  a  prisoner  to  the  French,  102 

Crawford,  Col.,  his  defeat,  259 

Crib,  Capt.,  discovery  of  his  sword,  352 

Cuchoise,  John,  his  kindness  to  a  captive, 
296 

Cummings,  Timothy,  a  captive,  135 

Dade's  defeat  and  death,  355 

Davis,  John,  dies  in  captivity,  137 

Dajly,  William,  dies  in  captivity,  137 

Dechouffour,  Mons.,  100 

De  Courcy, ,  his  melancholy  fate,  357 

Deerfield,  surprise  of  people  there.  60-1 

Denox,  Joseph,  dies  in  captivity,  138 

Deny,  Wiliam,  246 

Devil,  Indian  notions  of,  218,  255-6 

D'Iberville,  Mons.,  101 
,  Dill.  John,  dies  in  Captivity,  138 
[  Dover,  Waldron's  garrison  at,  destroyed, 

Downing,  Robert,  a  captive,  136 

Drew,  Mrs.,  a  captive.  21, 50 

Ducharme.  M.  L.,  287 

Dudley,  Gov.,  106 

Duffield,  William,  250 

Dugon,  Michael,  dies  in  captivity,  187 

Dummer.Gov.,  108 

Dunbar,  Rober-,  a  captive,  escapes,  136 

Dunham,  Jonathan,  dies  in  captivity,  187 

Eames,  Nathan,  a  captive.  136 ;  dies,  137 

Eastburn.  Robert,  narrative  of  his  captivity 


INDEX. 


Elliot,  Robert,  250 
English,  the  Talhasaga,  221 

Erving,  Mr. ,  283 

Estaing,  Count  de,  at  Boston,  163 

Ethrington,  M«j.  287,  295 

Evans,  John,  a  captive,  86  :   miserably 

perishes,  87 

Evans,  Samuel,  dies  in  captivity,  138 
Fairbanks,  Jonas  and  Joehua,  killed,  21 
Farnsworth,  Stephen,  a  captive,  134 
Farrar,  Henry,  killed  at  Laucaster,  21 
Fitch,  John,  narrative  of  his  captivity, 

Florida,  ravaged  by  the  Spaniards,  11-20 
Folke,  George,  himself  and  family  mur 
dered,  152 

Forbes,  General,  his  expedition,  233,  261 
Fort,  Abraham,  dies  in  captivity,  138 
Fort,  Capt.  John,  dies  in  captivity,  138 
Fowler,  Mary,  captivity  of,  140-13 
Frazier  Capt.,  killed,  355 
Furbush,  Phinehas,  a  captive,  136 
Gaffleld,  Benjamin,  drowned,  157 
Gaffield,  Eunice,  a  captive,  157 
Gaines,  Gen.,  buries  the  dead  killed  in 

Dade's  fight,  356 

Garwafs,  William,  dies  in  captivity,  137 
George,  Robert,  246-9 
Gerish,  John,  68,  72 
Gerish,  Sarah,  captivity  of,  68-70 
Gibbs,  Capt.,  of  Newport,  283 
Gilbert,  John,  a  captive,  40-1 
Girty,  Thomas,  his  residence,  352 
God,  Indian  notions  f  f,  218,  255  ;    of  in 
ferior  gods,  256,  324,  330-1 
Gooden,  Pike,  dies  in  captivity,  137 
Goodman,  Samuel,  dies  in  captivity,  136, 

138 

Goodwin,  Mehetable,  a  captive,  111-12 
Grant,  Capt.,  in  captivity,  279 
Grant,  Col.,  his  defeat,  233,  259 
Gray,  Joseph,  dies  in  captivity,  138 
Greathouse,  Capt.,  taken,  343;  killed,  245 
Grout,  Hilkiah,  his  escape  from  Indians, 

156-7 

Grout,  Mrs.  Submit,  in  captivity,  157 
Gyles,  Capt.  John,  narrative  of  his  cap 
tivity,  73-109 

Gyles,  Mr.  Thomas,  killed,  75 
Hadley,  men  killed  there,  39 
Hagimsack,  Indian  settlement,  104 
Hall  and  M'Kenny's  Indian  Biography,  84 
Handy,  William,  180 
Hanson  family,  captivity  of,  113-26 
Hanson,  Elizabeth,  her  captivity,  113-26 
Hanson,  John,  his  death,  125-6 
Harmer,  Gen.,  his  defeat,  259 
Harris,  Mary,  in  captivity,  276 
Harthan,  Jonathan,  dies  in  captivity,  137 
Hawks,  John,  a  captive,  136 
Hawthorne,     Col.,    goes    against     the 

French,  103 

Heard,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  remarkable  es 
cape  of,  71 
Heard,  Mr.  John,  72 
Heard,  Tristram,  killed,  72 
Henry,  Alexander,  taken  captive,  286 
Henry,  Sergeant,  a  captive,  279 

24 


Herbeson,  Massa,  narrative  of  his  caDtivf- 
ty,  349-52 

Hessians,  capture  of  some,  249 

Hinkston,  Capt.  John,  exploit  of,  250 

Hitchcock,  Nathaniel,  a  captive,  137 

Hoar,  Mr.  John,  ventures  among  the  hos 
tile  Indians  to  redeem  captives,  50 ; 
succeeds,  52-3  ;  returns  with  some  to 
Boston,  55-6 

Hodge,  Jonathan,  250 

Holmes,  John,  246 

Holmes,  Mary,  a  captive,  166 

Hoosuck  Fort,  prisoners  taken  there. 
136-7 

Hopehood,  a  leader  at  Salmon  Falls,  111 

Horton,  Joshua,  239 

Howard,  Col. . — ,  165 

How,  Caleb,  narrow  escape  of,  128,  156 

How,  Caleb,  a  captive,  160-1 

How,  Daniel,  a  captive,  136-7 

Howell,  JacobS.,  249 

How,  Jemiinah,  captivity  of,  156-65 

How,  Nehemiah,  captivity  of,  127-38 

How,  Squire,  a  captive,  158 

Hubbard,  William,  57 

Hubbell,  Capt.  William,  his  extraordina 
ry  bravery,  342-8 

Hull,  Rev.  Mr. ,71 

Humphreys,  Col.  D.,  164 

Huntington,  Hrzekiah,  dies  in  captivity, 

Irvin,  Mrs.  Margaret,  wife    ofCol.  Jas 

Smith,  179-80 

Jacobs,  Capt.,  conduct  at  Kittaning,26S 
James,  the  printer,  52 
Jainette,  Lieut.,  murdered,  290 

Jeffers, ,  351 

Jelloway,  George,  351 

Jennings, ,  a  soldier,  killed  at  Ash- 

b>,  139 

Johnsons,  Misses,  captives.  169 
Johnson,  Mrs.,  a  captive,  281 

Johnson, ,  killed,  245-6 

Johnson.   Sir    William.   268,   a  council 

with  the  Indians,  326,  328,332 
John,  one-eyed,  Mouoco,  his  murders  at 

Lancaster,  24,  50 
Jones,  Rev.  Enos,  139 
Jones,  John,  a  captive,  136 
Jordan,  Capt.  James,  dies  in  captivity, 


Joslin,  Mrs. 


-,  a  captive,  29  ;  shock 


ing  manner  of  her  death,  ib. 
Jones,  Thomas,  dies  in  captivity,  185-6 
Kelly,  John,his  Narrative  of  Mrs.  Noble's 

captivity,  165 
Kenhawa,  Great,  battle  of,  259  ;  number 

of  Indians  killed  in,  263 
Kerley,  Mrs.  ,  killed  at  Lancaster. 

22 

Kelly,  William,  killed  at  Lancaster,  22 
Kelly,  Captain  Henry,  56 
Kettle,  goodwife,  a  captive,  50 ;  redeem- 

Kilpatrick, ,  343  ;  killed,  346 

King,  not  applicable  to  Indian  chiefs,  257 
Kinlade,  James,  a  captive,  132-3 
Lancaster,  destroyed  by  Indians,  20-23 


INDEX. 


Langlade,  Mr. ,  290-3  ;  inhuman 
ity  of,  296 

Lesslie,  Lieut.,  295 

Lewis.  Cron.  marries  a  dan.  of  an  Indian 
captive,  163 

Lewis,  John,  massacrd  with  his  family,151 

Light,  Daniel,  343  ;  wounded,  344 

Livingston,  Mr. ,  283 

Lloyd,  Lieut. ,  359 

Lo°-an   Gen  ,  his  Indian  expedition,  261 

Loughrie,  Col.,  his  defeat,  259  ;  further  ac 
count  of,  352 

Lovet,  Samuel,  a  captive,  136 ;  dies,  137 

Lunenburgh,  why  so  named,  139 

Lydiu  s  F<.rt  destroyed,  131,  134 

Lydle,  Leonard,  married,  137 ;  dies 

Lydle,  Sarah,  dies  in  captivity,  138 

Lynd,  Hon.  Judge,  132 

Lyon,  William,  250 

Manetohcoa,  an  Ojibewa  conjurer,  215 

Manheim,  Frederick,  narrative  of  his  cap 
tivity,  333 

Manners  and  customs  of  Indians,  how  to 
be  judged  of,  iii ,  iv. ;  ceremony  of  the 
Nipmucks  before  Sudbury  fight,  48-9  ; 
their  celebration  of  that  victory,  51-2  ; 
their  miserable  food  at  times  54 ;  pre 
parations  to  burn  captives,  62  ;  a  pow 
wow,  64  ;  young  Indians  more  barbar 
ous  than  old  ones ,  69 ;  modes  of 
torture,80,84-5;  barbarities  of  females, 
90 ;  Indians  do  not  neglect  their  old 
or  young  people,  ib.  Superstitions, 
91-2;  feasts  before  going  to  war,  96  ; 
display  of  scalps,  129-30 ;  barbarities, 
151-2 ;  conjuration,  216 ;  a  singular 
custom  of  females,  217  ;  ball  playing, 
220. 

Madockawando,  86 

Madawamkee,  78 

Madawescook  82 

March,  Maj.,  107 

Margra,  James,  dies  in  captivity,  138 

Marriage,  how  conducted  by  Indians,  257 

Mather,  Dr.  I.,  his  account  of  Stockwell's 
captivity.  60-8 

M'Comb,  William,  260 

M'Common,  Maj.,249 

M'Coy,  Isabella,  her  captivity,  143-7 

M'Clary,  Capt. ,  146 

M'Clung,  John  A.,  vii. 

M'Olure,  Capt ,  171 

Medfield,  expedition  against,  28 

Medockscenecasis,  81 

Medocktack,  78 

Merrill  Phinehas,  165 

Metcalf,  [Dr.  Samuel  L.,]  vii.,  342 

Michilimackinack,  surpr'd  by  the  Indians, 
286-92 

Miller,  Jacob,  massacred  with  his  family, 
151 

M'Int08h,Gen.,250,261 

Mitchel, ,  of  Maiden,  106 

M'Lane,  James,  250 

Mocoso,  a  Florida  chief,  makes  war  on 
Ucita,  and  destroys  his  town,  15  :  pro 
tects  Ortez.  16-20 

Mohawks,  N.  England  Indians  dread  of, 
vi. :  kill  some  Nipmucks,  40;  the  north 


ern    Indians   in    continual  fear    ol 

62,85 

Mohawk,  Solomon,  187-9 
Monkton,  Gen.,  his  Indian  expedition, 261 
Monoco,  a  Nipmuck  chief,  hanged — see 

one-eyed  John. 
Monro,   Col.,    surrenders    Fort   William 

Henry,  173 ;  dies,  177 
Montcalm,  Gen.,  reduces    Fort  William 

Henry,  172-3 

Moorehead.  ,  245 

Moravian  Indians,  massacre  of,  264 

Mosely,  Capt.  Samuel,  24 

Moxus,  at  the  capture  of  Pemmaquid,  75 

Mudge,  Lieut.,  killed,  355 

Munson,  Lieut.,  his  captivity,  352-3 

Myles,  Capt.,  107 

Nalton,  Thomas,  killed,  136 

Nanuntenno,  notice  of  his  ^eath,  35 

Narratives,  collections  of  Indian,  vii. 

Narvaez,  P.  de,  his  expedition  to  Florida, 

Newell,  Sergeant,  escapes  captivity,  279 
Newman,  Mr.,  of  Rehoboth,  57 
Noble,  Joseph,  a  captive,  168 
Noble,  Lazarus,  165  ;  taken,  166 
Noble.  Mrs.  Frances,  her  captivity,  165-72 
Norman,  Mr.,  137     ' 
Northampton,  expedition  against,  34-5 
Norton,  Rev.  John,  a  captive,  136-7 
Noyes,  Col.,  107 

Nutting,  Samuel,  narrow  escape  of,  128 
Onux,  a  wife  of  Quinnapin,  46 
Ortiz,  John,  nar.  of  his  captivity,  11 ;  how 
he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians, 

12  ;  sentenced  to  be  burnt  to  death, 
but  is  rescued  by  the  chiefs  daughter, 

13  ;  night  adventure  with  wolves,  15  ; 
again   sentenced  to    die,  and  again 
saved  by  the  chiefs    daughter,   16; 
escapes  to  the  chief,  Mocoso,  who  pro 
tects  him,  17 ;  falls  into  the  hands  of 
the  Spaniards  under  Soto,  18;   his 
death, 19 

Oswego,  taken  by  the  Indians  and  French, 

Owen,  James,  killed,  136 

Parker,  Isaac,  a  captive,  134 

Parker,  Capt.  William,  250 

Pateshall,  Mr.,  killed  at  Pemmaquid,  76 

Patton,  Capt.  Samuel,  250 

Payson,Capt.,  captured  by  the  French,  101 

Paxton,  Capt.  Thomas,  250 

Pealtomy,  Indian  chief,  128-9 

Peebles,  Col.  Robert,  250 

Pecomptuck,  Deerfield,  61 

Pemmaquid,  laid  waste,  77  ;  surrendered 

to  the  French  by  Capt.  Chubb,  101 
Pennos,  a  chief,  saves  the  life  of  a  captive, 

Pepper,  Col.  William,  250 
Pepper,  Robert,  a  captive,  25-26 

Perkins, ,  a  soldier,  his  narrow  escape, 

139-40 

Perry,  John,  a  captive,  136 
Philip,  leader  at  the  taking  of  Lancaster, 
20;  visited  by  Mrs.  Rowlandson,  33; 
with  her  at  her  redemption,  52 ;  dis 
pleased  with  that  proceeding,  53 


INDEX. 


Phillips,  Col.,  106 

Phipps,  Submit,  a  captive,  158,  169 

Phips,  Sir  Win.,  redeems  captives,  70, 135 

Phips,  William,  kills  an  Indian,  130,157  , 

Picket,  priest  of  Oswegatchy,  275-6 

Piper,  Col.  John,  250 

Plaffer,  Lawrence,  dies  in  captivity,  134 

Plaisted,  Mary,  a  captive,  113 

Plascut,  William,  343 

Plausawa,  his  incursion  at  Epsom,  144-5, 

Plimpton,  John,  burnt  by  the  Indians,  60 

Pontiac,hiswar,286,  302 

Pote,  William,  a  captive,  133 

Powowing,  the  manner  of,  48 

Pratt,  Amos,  a  captive,  136  ;  dies,  138 

Proctor,  Col.  John,  250 

Quannopin,  Mrs.  Rowlandson's  master, 
26 ;  leads  a  great  dance  after  Sudbury 
fight,  51-2 

Quochecho,  [properly  Cochecho,]  68,  71, 
79,86 

Ramsay,  Dr. ,  360 

Rattlesnake,  a  sort  of  deity  with  the  Indi 
ans,  330-1 

Ray, ,  343 

Read,  Jacob,  a  captive,  134  :  dies,  137 

Read,  John,  dies  in  captivity,  137 

Reed,  Josiah,  killed,  136 

Reed's  Block  House,  349 

Reed,  Thomas,  a  captive,  taken  at  Hadley, 

Richards,  John,  a  captive,  136 

Robb,  David,  250 

Robertson,  Capt. ,  137 

Rogers,  Capt.,  his  fight  at  Lake  George, 
279 

Rogers,  Margaret,  after.  Mrs.  Smith,  179 

Rogers,  Robert,  tortured  to  death,  109-10 

Rogers,  William,  336 

Root,  John,  killed  at  Deerfield,  GO 

Roper,  Ephraim,  escapes  the  massacre  at 
Lancaster,  23 

Roper,  Mrs. ,  killed  there,  ib. 

Hoss,  William,  a  captive,  281 

Rowlandsou,  Mrs.  Mary,  wounded  and 
taken  captive,  20 ;  her  first  remove, 
23 ;  second  do.,  24  ;  fall  from  a  horse, 
third  remove,  25  ;  her  wound  healed, 
26 ;  her  child  dies,  ib. ;  meets  with 
her  son,  27  ;  with  Mrs.  Joslin,  29 ; 
fourth  remove,  ib. ;  fifth  do.,  30  ;  or 
dered  to  work  Sundays,  31 ;  sixth  re 
move,  ib.;  seventh,  do.,  32;  eighth 
do.,  33  ;  visited  by  her  son,  ib. ;  meet 
ing  with  King  Philip,  34 ;  ninth  re 
move,  35  ;  attempt  to  visit  her  son,  ib.] 
remarkable  kindness  of  certain  Indi 
ans  to  her,  36 ;  abuse  from  one,  ib. ; 
twelfth  remove,  37 ;  barbarous  treat 
ment,  38  ;  a  squaw  blinds  her  with 
ashes,  38-39 ;  other  abuse,  and  at 
tempts  to  deceive  her,  40 ;  again  meets 
her  son,  16.  ;  fourteenth  remove,  42  ; 
fared  better  than  her  masters,  on 
some  occasions,  43 ;  fifteenth  remove, 
ib.  ]  sixteenth  do. ;  hears  a  rumor  of 
attempts  to  ransom  her,  ib. ;  eight 
eenth  remove,  45 ;  nineteenth  do.  ; 


interview  with  Philip,  ib.  ;  arrives,  at 
Wachuset,  46  ;  receives  kindnesses,  49; 
twentieth  remove,  50  ;  Mr.  Hoar  ar 
rives  with  her  ransom,  51  ;  it  is  ac 
cepted,  52  ;  Indians  hold  a  court  upon. 
her  liberation,  63  ;  liberated,  2  May, 
55  ;  arrives  at  Boston  the  day  follow 
ing,  56  ;  her  gratitude,  66  ;  hears  ol 
the  redemption  of  two  of  her  children, 
which  she  soon  finds  true,  57  ;  con 
clusion,  58-60 

Rowlandson,  Thomas,  killed  at  Lancaster, 
22 

Rugg,  David,  killed,  127 

Russell,  Samuel,  a  captive,  60,  65  :  his  fate 
unknown,  66 

Sabatis,  his  incursion  at  Epsom,  144 

Saccapee,  Mons.,  falls  in  love  with  his 
slave,  162-3  :  romance  concerning, 
164-5 

Salmon  Falls,  captives  taken  there,  109 

Salutation,  Indian  manner  of,  263 

Saneld,  John,  dies  in  captivity,  138 

Saratoga,  destruction  of,  131,  134-6 

Savage,  John,  a  captive,  204 

Sawyer,  Ephraim,  killed,  21 

Schuyler,  Col.  Peter,  relieves  Mrs.  Howw 
from  great  peril  while  a  captive. 
163-4  ;  281 

Schuyler,  Capt.  -  ,  killed,  134 

Scofield,  Philip,  a  captive,  137  ;  dies  138 

Scott,  Mrs.  Frances,  her  captivity,  338-42 

Scott,  Joseph,  a  captive,  136 

Scott,  Moses,  a  captive,  136  ;  his  wife  dies, 
137 

Scott,  Stephen,  a  captive,  137 

Scott,  William,  a  captive,  137 

Sebundowit,  a  leader  at  Waldron's  massa 
ere,  69 

Shearly,  Mr.  -  ,  135 

Shepherd,  Capt.,  a  captive,  279 

Shepard,  Jacob,  a  captive,  136 

Shepard,  Mr.  Thomas,  56,68 

Shirely  General,  283 

Short,  Clement,  captured  at  Salmon  Fall), 

Shute,  John,  171 

Simon,  Father,  a  Jesuit  on  St.  John  River, 

101 

Sinconds,  Benjamin,  a  captive,  136 
Small,  Maj.  -  ,  164 
Sinead,  Daniel,  dies  in  captivity 


, 


Smead,  John  and  family,  captives,  136  J 

his  wife  dies  in  captivity,  138 
Smith,  Col.  James,  narrative  of  his  cap 

tivity,    178-264;  escapes,   234;    goes 

against  the  Indians  under  Armstrong, 

235  ;  under  Boquet.  236 
Smith,  John,  a  captive,  137 
Smith,  Richard,  a  captive,  187 
Smith,  William,  180,  245-8 
Snider,  Jacob,  murdered  with  bis  family 

150 
Solomons,  Ezekiel,  a  captive,  296  ;  ran 

somed,  301 
Soto,  Ferd.  de,  lands  in  Florida,  IS  ;  his 

expedition  and  death,  19-20. 
Southack,  Capt.,  106-7 
Southerland,  James,  a  captive,  138 


INDEX. 


Spafford,  Capt.  John,  a  prisoner,  134 

Sqakheag,  Northtit- Id,  62, 

Stanwix,  Gen.,  his  expedition,  261 

Starkee,  Mr.,  a  Scotchman,  105 

St.  Clair,  Gen.,  his  defeat,  259 

Stebbins,  Benjamin,  a  captive,  60 ;  his 
escape,  63 

Stockwell,  ftuintin,  narrative  of  his  cap 
tivity,  60-8 

Stone,  James,  of  Philadelphia,  279 

Stone,  Uriah,  239 

Stoier,  John,  843 

Stoughton,  Gov.  Win.,  106 

Stroud,  William,  a  captive,  132 

Subs,  Richard,  a  captive,  137 

Sudbury  fight,  49 

Sunderland,  John,  a  captive,  137 

Supercass,  Gov.,  107 

Tainter,  Benjamin,  a  captive,  137 

Tecanyaterighto,  a  chief,  187,  205,  225 
-32 

Tennent,  Gilbert,  265-6 

Tether,  Christian,  dies  in  captivity,  138 

Thayer,  Jonathan,  narrow  escape  of, 
128 

Thompson,  J.  W.  B.,  remarkable  escape 
of,  357 

Thompson, ,  a  captive,  232 

Thompson,  William,  242-3 

Thurston,  Mary,  a  captive,  35 

Tilton,  Jonathan,  171 

Todd,  Col.,  his  defeat,  259 

Toutileaugo,  companion  of  Col.  Smith  in 
captivity,  191-205,  223 

Toogood,  Thomas,  escapes  out  of  captiv 
ity,  112 

Tracy,  Mr. ,  289  ;  killed,  301 

Trent,  Capt. ,  killed,  138 

Tucker,  ,  343;  wounded,  344; 

killed,  347 

Tute,  Mrs.  Jemima— see  Howe,  Jemima 

Ucita,  a  Florida  chief,  13 ;  twice  con 
demns  his  captive,  Ortiz,  to  death, 
13,  16  ;  overthrown  in  a  war  with 
Mocoso,  15 

Uncas,  report  concerning,  63 

Usher,  Mr.,  benevolence  to  Mrs.  Row- 
landaon.  56 

Vaudreuil,  GOT.  de,  his  kindness  to  cer 
tain  captives,  163,  274, 280 


Venhon,  Samuel,  dies  in  captivity, 1  86 
Vigoras,  Arnold,  killed,  181 
Villebon,  Gov.,  103  ;  fort,  104 
Virginians.  Great  Knife,  Ashalekoa,  284 
Wachuset  Hills,  (in  Princeton,)  63 
Wait,  Benjamin,  a  captive,  60,  64,  68 
Waldron,  Maj.,  redeems  a  child  of  Mr. 
Rowlandson,  57  ;  his  garrison,  68  ; 
incidents  of  the  attack  upon,  71 ; 
its  capture,  79-80 

Waldron,  Mr., ,  283 

Wallace,  George,  of  Epsom,  144,  146 

Warren,  David,  a  captive,  136 

Washington,  Gen.,  249-50 

Waters,  Thomas,  107 

Wawatam,  a  Chippeway  chief,  287-9  ; 

saves  the  life  of  a  captive,  300 
Webb,  Gen.,  his  misfortune  at  Fort  Wil 
liam   Henry,  172-3 
Weems,  Capt.,   surrenders  the  fort  at 

Pemmaquid,  76 

Wettamore,  wife  of  Quinnapin,  46-52 
Wheeler,  Richard,  killed  at  Lancaster,  21 
Wheelwright,  Mr ,  redeems  cap 
tives,  167 

Whidden,  James,  165  ;  dies,  166 
Whidden,  Timothy,  taken  captive,  166 
Whitcomb,  Mr.  James,  58 
Wilkins,  John,  349 

Willard,  Maj. ,  138 

Williams,  Capt. ,266,275 

Williams,  Eunice,  her  husband,  129 
Williamson,  Capt.  Jonathan,  a  captive, 

138 

Williamson,  Peter,  his  captivity,  147-56 
William    Henry,  (Fort,)  taken  by  the 
French,  172-3 

Wilson,    Capt. ,    takes    captives 

from  Canada,  171 

Winniway,  at  the  surprise    ofMichili- 
mackinack,  293,  296 

Woortbury,  Mr. ,  a  prisoner  to  the 

French,  102 
Woodside,  Capt.,  108 
Woodwell,  Benjamin,  a  captive,  140 
Woodwell,  David,  a  captive,  135 
Woodwell,  Daniel,  his  wife  dies,  187 
Woodwell,  Mary,  a  captive,  140 
Woodwell,  Thomas,  a  captive,  140 
Yolkom,  Conrad,  escapes  massacre,  S88 


